Beneath
by shitakemushrooms
Summary: KakaSaku. He married her, made her miserable, and pretended to love her. Eventually, he did.
1. Kaleidoscope

Disclaimer: generic disclaimer

A/N: It would be fantastic if you could review. Honestly, I am really excited whenever I receive a review. I prefer really intelligent and insightful reviews though. Constructive criticism is encouraged, and of course, appreciated. If you in fact think I should continue this story, you should intelligently review. I do not plan to write a story if public opinion does not approve of it. It discourages and upsets me.

Chapter 1- Kaleidoscope

It was empty. She had to admit, she never saw it coming.

Fingers lacing with one another, strolling down the marketplace; it was completely empty. It was quite ironic really. All the waiting seemed to get her nowhere. Even now that they were in that place, in this position, they were never really there.

The idea now seemed almost unholy. No longer was it sacred for it was all just a façade; a royal and painful embellishment that the world never seemed to recognize. And even if it did, the world simply chose not to acknowledge it.

She couldn't recall for the life of her where it all had begun to go wrong.

Was it when she was still a mere child of nine? Or was it when she was twelve and they were paired together for the same team? Maybe, just maybe, it was when he left… Either way, it didn't really matter anymore. To be brutally honest, she really couldn't give a fuck.

The boring expensive diamond ring, glistening on her ring finger, would always remain cold and indifferent, just like the man himself.

They were the Uchiha's. The world viewed them as the perfect and happy couple in which they could aspire to.

Really, people could be so oblivious. They were analogous to a lifeless porcelain doll, sitting in a glass case somewhere; incredibly perfect and beautiful on the outside, but hollow through and through. They were no better than that ragged old teddy bear that you threw out when you grew too old for it. Underneath all the smiles and public displays of feigned affection, was a disintegrating ember being deprived of oxygen; endangered of burning out at any moment of the day.

He held her hand.

She avoided walking too close to him.

They made love occasionally.

She questioned this act considerably though for he didn't force her to bear him children.

He greeted her when she returned from a strenuous mission, took time off of missions to be around the house more, and sometimes would sit with her without saying so much as a single word. In reciprocation, she would ask for longer missions; more dangerous ones. She never believed him for a single second. His actions were forced; more or less. Underneath it all, she knew he was simply indifferent, and she was sick of it.

She had been so happy, too. It was humorous at times. How ironic was it that life-long dreams could be crushed in a matter of seconds?

She assumed it to be less than five seconds that she realized she was the only one to care. It took her five seconds more to comprehend that their first kiss at the alter was completely worthless, and he was simply apathetic.

All this time, she had deluded herself into thinking that he was in fact capable of being human. Her trust had somehow ended up blowing up right in her face. Now, he seemed to resemble nothing more than a monkey, acting in front of an audience that was too oblivious to recognize that he did not in fact deserve an Oscar. Ecstatic that she had no aspirations to take up an acting career, she simply gave up on him.

_How long has it been….._

She ignored the body heat that transfused through their intertwining fingers, silently counting up the days…months…years…that they had been legally bound to each other?

_Till death do we part,_ she mused sarcastically.

She assumed it had to be roughly around three years. Their marriage had long died its tragic death, leaving behind a trail of throbbing remnants.

Technically, there shouldn't have been a trail for it never started out so great to begin with. Unfortunately, the remnants of her childhood years continued to haunt her till this day, a daily reminder of her foolishness.

Inwardly sighing, she glanced at the man whom her fingers were sharing heat with. His face was glazed with an utmost unreadable expression that even after three years of marriage miraculously remained a mystery to her.

After a few moments of scrutinizing, she finally reverted back to the task of focusing on anything BUT him.

As they continued to stroll along the marketplace, various faces flashed them pleasant smiles in which he politely and insincerely returned. She felt herself resisting the urge to roll her eyes at his duplicity.

Placing the utmost effort in avoiding any contact that was more than necessary, she continued to ignore his glances and the smiles of oblivious villagers that were sent her way. This exact reaction would routinely find itself reemerging every Sunday stroll.

* * *

She had always hated this room. It was too spacious, too dark, and too morose. Their living room stood in its ornate state, giving off a forlorn air of abandonment. 

The couple stood within its cold confines while an awkward placement of silence ricocheted between them. Without more so than a word, she stalked off towards the door that they had just entered not more than ten minutes ago.

His eyes examined her shrinking figure heading towards the door. They narrowed as the door swung back within its hinges resulting in a loud reverberating thud. His gaze lingered upon the glossy wooden surface. He quickly averted them elsewhere and headed towards their bedroom.

Back heavily resting upon the glossy wooden surface of their double doors, she outwardly sighed. Relief swept throughout her body as she once again relaxed. Her tense muscles loosened as she breathed in large gulps of oxygen. Burying her face within her hands, her body slumped down until she felt her bottom come in contact with the pavement.

The tension within the house always seemed to overwhelm her. It seemed that her body would automatically constrict upon contact with its atmosphere. His presence, no longer exciting nor terrifying, bored her. Despite their dead marriage, the tension was determined to wiggle its way into their marriage as to point out that there in fact was something amiss.

Their denial seemed too strained to now be overlooked. But somehow, no one bothered to point it out. They, unwittingly, were too invested within the sight of the large Uchiha mansion, the prestigious Uchiha title, and the monkey himself.

Sakura, whom now felt sick to her stomach, decided to search for a route of escape from the tortuous tension that plagued her mind. Finding the tranquility to be quite comforting, she now became engulfed within the silence that seemed to calm her nerve with every step she took.

Her calculating mind could now replay the scenarios that her marriage undertook to reach its horrendous place today without sending her into a state of trepidation . It almost became compulsory now. The topic had a life of its own, triggering her hungry and curious side to fathom the lengths of its depth and wondering how they were where they were.

Before she knew it though, a wall of some sort halted her advances, and she felt something grab at her shoulders to prevent her from collapsing backwards onto the marble flooring. _Marble flooring… what?_ She had long reached her destination, and was well within the Hokage building where Tsunade's office was located. Quickly adjusting her eyes, she saw green, a green jounin vest to be exact. Trailing up in her of its owner's face, her eyes met one lone orb while the other was covered with a Konoha Leaf hitai-ate. Strands of silver partially obstructed her vision of the lone dark orb as her mind finally processed what had just happened. Her eyes trailed down again to only encounter the sight of soft smooth lips and a tanned strong handsome jaw adorned with dimples below slightly pale cheeks.

Her brained registered the handsome face as to be no other than Hatake Kakashi. Her jaw slacked as her eyes seemed to bulge right out of its own sockets.

"Sakura…" the deep amused voice reached her ears seemingly oblivious to her disbelief. Unfortunately, her mind had not soon comprehended the presented sight.

"Sakura…" the concerned voice came again.

This time, the voice reached her comprehension and she hastily responded, "Your mask…" Her voice came out breathless and filled with disbelief. He instantly understood her plight.

"Oh! I apologize. Tsunade just gave me an exam." With a blink of an eye, the his mask was back in its usual place accompanied with a smirk.

Stammering, Sakura attempted to find her voice, "Um…mission… yeah….MISSION."

Before he had the chance to show the slightest twinge of amusement or comment on her unusually display, she bowed and dismissed herself from his presence, scurrying into Tsunade's office.

She was met with a slurred greeting from her current instructor's lips. Considering Tsunade's state of mind, she didn't seem to mind the intrusion into her office without the slightest knock.  
"What brings you here Sakura?" There was a slight slur to her question. It was barely noticeable though, unless you account for the sake bottles littered across her workspace.

Collecting herself, Sakura prodded carefully, hoping not to excite any unwanted temper, "Tsunade-shisou, I was wondering if you had any missions available?"

The Godaime's eyes scrutinized Sakura meticulously before responding, "Sakura, unfortunately all the missions available are low-leveled genin and chuunin ones. I had plenty of available A- rank missions yesterday, but for some reason, all the jounins are eager to jump on the uptake of getting out of Konoha for the holidays."

"Oh.. I see…" came Sakura's dejected voice.

"I'm sorry Sakura. If only I prevented Kakashi from taking the last mission a couple days ago… I probably should've though. His body is littered with injuries. I just gave him an exam not even twenty minutes ago."

"Yeah, he told me. I ran into him outside your office."

Tsunades' eyebrows furrowed, "You should spend more time with him. Though he doesn't admit it, I think he gets lonely over the holidays…"

Right then and there, Sakura searched Tsunade's eyes for any sign of remorse or deprivation, but she couldn't scour enough for reprehension. "Tsunade-shisou…" she hesitated, "what about you?"

The Godaimes' eyes shot up, connecting with Sakura's concern-filled olive orbs. An unidentifiable silence overtook the atmosphere as various emotions passed through Tsunades' bloodshot eyes. She finally settled for asking a redundant question with which she knew the answer to.

"What about me?"

Sakura contemplated her answer carefully. "Are you ever lonely for the holidays?"

A deep frown fell upon the blonde woman as her expression readily reverted back to a state of feigned happiness. "No," there was a considerably short pause, "why should I be? I have my sake, don't I?" There was another hiatus; this time, it was longer, "I have you."

"That, indeed you do." Both student and teacher softly smiled in each others' presence. Sakura politely continued, "if there are any available missions, will you let me know?"

"Of course. Now get out of here, you're disrupting my break." With a hurl of a bottle and the resonating sound of shattered glass, Sakura was out before the projectile reached the office door.

Discouraged with the aspect of spending the holidays with the knot in her posterior, her husband, she was met with another gut wrenching sight. Kakashi was slouched lazily against the wall, eyes glued to the pages of a no doubt, smut-filled, orange book. The instant she stepped out of the room, his lazy dark orb greeted her with its typical enthusiastic crinkle. She eyed him questionably.

With a small shrug and the soft thud of two heavily bound sides of a book snapping together, he said, "Can't a teacher wait for a student?"

Her eyes narrowed, finding the loophole of his statement, "I'm not your student anymore."

His eyes searched her face. She grew annoyed at his silence as she narrowed her eyes. "You're right. I keep on forgetting how grown up you are."

She was silent. Then, she said something; her voice barely distinguishable, "Sometimes… I wish I wasn't grown up."

With one last sullen look at the silver-haired man, she took off; her foot-steps creating erratic hollow clacks down the hall of the Hokage building. Kakashi's lone eye remained on the kunoichi's back as she made her way out of the building. The dark orb drooped as a layer of indistinct emotion glazed it. Spinning on his heels, he headed home.

* * *

The dim reflection of her face on the glass of whiskey caused her a regurgitating feeling. Scoffing at such self-pitying disgust, she took another short drink out of her glass. She examined the auburn liquid, sloshing peacefully within the glass. With every peaceful swish of its matter, she more or less wished she was dead; or better yet, divorced. 

It was around eleven now. The Shinobi Bar closed around two in the morning, and with every increasing minute, two o'clock would show itself. She loudly groaned, attracting the attention of the bartender who eyed her with pity.

She was a frequent customer at the bar. The bartender often saw her saunter in every other night and demand the strongest drink that they had. He never had the nerve to appease his curiosity by asking her what was wrong. She seemed like a loose cannon with a short fuse. She looked dangerous. In addition to that, just about everyone in Konoha knew who she was, the Hokage's apprentice.

Her eyes seemed to hold an unusually large amount of frustration, and every time he saw her, the frustration seemed to triple. Really, he was curious, and he hoped she wouldn't kill him. "What's wrong pretty lady?"

She lazily gazed up at him, not offended by his casual nickname. "Ehhh…" her hand waved at him dismissively, "just my marriage…" Her speech was heavily slurred and her sharp eyes instantly became more dull and lifeless as she continued her favorite hobby. The bartender's eyes lit up; bulged and with a quick nod, he returned to cleaning the glasses placed within the sink. Uchiha Sasuke would have his head…

Hours passed, and the kunoichi found that she was thoroughly intoxicated. She silently savored the dulled feelings of remorse as she ordered another whiskey. The bartender eyed her as if contemplating whether he thought she had had too much. Too bad he didn't have the propensity to refuse as he began to pour her another glass.

* * *

On the other side of the bar, a group of half-drunken, half-lidded male shinobi harassed an orange book, sharingan wielding man on the prospects of his sex/love life. 

Really, Kakashi thought he would've been better off staying at home to mope about being alone over the holidays. Unfortunately, that was what his brazen friends thought he would exactly do and decided to ambush him outside his home. His attempts to ward them away by reading didn't seem to have an effect, and his efforts to find a means of escape were futile. He unfortunately became his own sacrificial lamb.

Genma, Asuma, Anko, and Kurenai expectantly sent him a stare. Why were they staring? Did they expect him to say something? Wait… did THEY say something? Well, he thought it couldn't hurt to ask.

"Um… did you guys say something?" he hesitantly asked.

Apparently, they weren't staring at him, but at something behind him. His question didn't seem to reach them in the slightest bit. In a feat of curiosity, he slowly rotated his head to see what had caught his teammates' eyes. He instantly regretted it, as his book smoothly slid out of his hands, and fell with a thud on to solid ground.

Now there was a sight you didn't see everyday, unless you were the Shinobi Bar bartender of course. Sakura, the Hokage's prized apprentice, Hatake Kakashi's favorite ex-student, slouching lazily over the bar, eyes clouded with alcohol. A dismal atmosphere seemed to engulf her as she expectedly slid a glass under the bartender's nose for another refill.

It was then, that Kakashi felt something in his brain explode. A man slid into the seat next to the pink-haired kunoichi and attempted to strike up a conversation with his MARRIED ex-student. Didn't everyone know she was married? What was this man doing? Why was she flirting back?!

Conversation quickly resumed at Kakashi's table. "Hey Hatake, isn't that Sakura?" somebody asked him. Unfortunately, in his state of stupor, he couldn't figure out if the voice was male or female.

"I would believe so," Kakashi responded quietly.

"Isn't she married to Uchiha Sasuke?" came another voice.

This time, there was no response. Forgetting the tittering book laying abandoned on the floor, he sauntered over to Sakura emitting a low and slightly dangerous aura within every step.

"I believe it is time for us to go," Asuma stated quickly. With a hand, he gestured for everyone to leave. Before they were out the door, there was a loud crash, and a slightly disheveled man landed abruptly near their toes. Hauling the man who had previously been flirting with Sakura up to his feet, and profusely apologizing to him for their friend, they dragged him out of the bar before anymore damage was done.

* * *


	2. Puppet Strings

A/N: I thoroughly enjoyed the reviews. This is the chapter where all the smut begins. Enjoy!

Chapter 2- Puppet Strings

Comfort quickly washed over her as she downed the last of her drink. How many glasses had she had? Why did it even matter? It wasn't as if she was planning to go home anytime soon. Hell, she'd be happy if they set up a cot behind the bar for her.

Pushing her glass towards the bartender, she signaled for another refill. He hesitantly tipped the whiskey bottle filling the glass with auburn-colored liquid.

"Thanks," she muttered appreciatively. Before Sakura had the chance to reach for her liquid, she felt a warm body slip into the seat to her right. Not bothering to glance up, she silently took another sip of her drink.

"Same thing as the lady," she heard the masculine voice mutter. She took another swig of her drink. She could feel his eyes boring a hole through her skull, undoubtedly mesmerized by her natural pink hair.

The man cleared his throat, in a hoarse, deep, masculine voice. She gradually took notice and rapidly glanced up. His eyes…._blue…_ she thought. He smirked at her seductively, mirth and mischief filling his eyes. His hair matched the color of her whiskey and stood unruly on his head. The man was attractive. He spoke readily, moving his lips in a sinfully seductive manner.

To be honest, she had no freaking idea what he was saying. She was rather enjoying the attention he bestowed upon her. She gazed at her whiskey, contemplating whether or not she should reciprocate. Deciding that a little flirting didn't hurt anyone and that she had no reason NOT to flirt when this sinfully attractive man was outwardly displaying interest, she lightly trailed a finger from his slim and toned arm down to his hand. Flashing him a breathtaking, genuine smile, they began to converse.

As their conversation progressed, she had to admit that she became very interested. This blue-eyed man, whose name she couldn't recall for the moment, was very funny, charming, and interesting. So when he leaned in, sending involuntary shudders of pleasure down her drunken spine, and whispered, "Shall we go somewhere quieter?" her intoxicated mind could find no reason to protest his offer.

Before she could comply with his offer, somewhere in the depths of her mind, even in her inebriated state, she registered soft, angry footsteps. The last thing she could process was a low, familiar growl, before the warm, attractive body situated next to her was plucked unwittingly off of his seat resulting in a loud crash.

She recognized the familiar, angry chakra. Her eyes narrowed in disappointment, and she glanced up only to meet a cheery masked face. He smiled at her from under his mask, as she rolled her eyes in annoyance. The enormous ball of misery living within her bowels immediately transformed into extreme antagonism.

"Fancy running into you here, Sakura," his voice was laced with a feigned string of cheeriness. Clenching her fingers around her glass, she could feel it begin to give way as it progressively started to crack.

She snapped a forced greeting towards him. In turn, he simply smiled at her, daring her to continue.

"What brings you here?" he asked carefully, using the same cheery tone. This annoyed her to no extent.

Raising her glass of whiskey, she replied gruffly, "Alcohol," there was a pause before she continued; "I was talking to him."

"Who?" he feigned innocence. She dismissively waved a hand in the general direction of the crash. "Oh! Him!" there was that tone again, "I just assumed you'd enjoy conversing with me more." He invited himself into the seat next to her, previously occupied by the attractive blue-eyed man.

Her green eyes scrutinized the man before her, as she resumed with her drink. Kakashi gazed at the pink head of hair, noting her miserable appearance. Moments of silence passed between the two of them as she began to question her luck. She dreaded running into the man, almost as much as she hated going home to that monkey.

Gulping down the remainings of her drink, she reached into her pocket and tossed a couple of bills on the countertop. Facing Kakashi, she roughly stated, "I'm going to go now." Before he knew it, the door of the bar swung open, and the pink-haired kunoichi disappeared out into the cold, damp streets. Sighing, he quickly followed her outside, but not before swinging by the previously occupied table to pick up the lonesome orange book that he had so carelessly abandoned on the floor.

She hated running into Kakashi. She doubted it was because of his sharingan that it seemed like he had the ability to see through people; understanding even the most complex minds. But somehow, whenever she was around the man, his lone dark eye would send unwanted shivers through her body, gazing at her like he knew how she felt. Even now, as she could hear footsteps behind her, she could feel his lonesome eye scrutinizing her back. She continued to move, ignoring his presence.

After a good couple of minutes of evading his footsteps, she finally halted. In a flash, he was beside her, expecting her to continue walking. Kakashi glanced up only to see a red flashing motel sign. _This has to be the sleaziest motel in town…_ he thought. Sakura was already at the counter, keys in hand, making her way towards a room.

He had to hand it to her. She was fast. Well, either that or he was just getting old. Deciding on the latter, he followed her up the stairs into a stench-filled hallway. Her eyes avoided looking directly at him. Before she could slide the key into the keyhole, she felt a solid grip on her hand.

Not bothering to look up, she spoke through clenched teeth, "What?"

"Why are you here?" he asked her in a hurt whisper. He could feel the warmth of her smaller hand in his; her grip on the key tightened.

Sakura refused to look at him and gruffly replied, "None of your business."

"Why?" his voice was now louder, more forceful. The grip on the key loosened as she smacked his hand away from hers.

"Kakashi… go home." Her eyes were dull and glassy. She glared straight into his single visible eye with a look so defecating it almost made him flinch.

With the audacity only he could attempt to muster in her presence, he stubbornly responded, "I could say the same to you." She fumbled with her key, and attempted to open her door again. This time, in a desperate attempt for her to answer, he shoved her slightly away from the door, surprising her.

Sakuras' eyes bore straight into his, desperately trying to hide all traces of emotion from him. To be honest, she knew she was doing a horrible job. "You're married," his voice came again.

Oh right… She was married. She assumed with the amount of alcohol she had consumed, she would be able to push that fact so far back into her mind that she wouldn't be able to remember that for the night. But with the way Kakashi's voice stated it, it seemed that that fact ingrained itself into her brain, as she stubbornly tried to remove it.

She refused to respond, as she shoved him away from her, making her way again towards the door. His heart clenched, seeing the coarse way she responded to him. He grabbed her arm again, but all she did was push him away, hardheadedly trying to open her door. He felt the biting desperation within his stomach, and with one rash move, shoved her harshly, hoping with every fiber of his being that she would not hate him for doing so.

Her back landed with a soft thud against the hall wall, and soon a warm body engulfed hers, holding her wrists into place. Her mind told her to move. But it seemed that all she could do was avoid his eyes. Her body was slow on the uptake with the amount of alcohol in her system. His eyes searched hers, but she evaded his gaze.

"Sakura…" his deep, masculine voice cracked, "why?"

She flashed him another glare, causing his stomach to constrict. She was hurt, and even though her eyes were cold, calculating, and cruel, he could feel it. Her gaze remained austere and bleak as she replied, "I said none of your business…" She tried holding back the tears, she really did. Somehow, all she could manage to do was look away as a single drop made its way down her cheek.

"What's wrong?" His body enclosed her completely now when he felt her move again; pressed against her in a way that was almost provocative.

"Get off of me."

"No," he softly whispered, "not until you tell me." There was a pause. He knew he would regret his next question, but the sight of her so disheveled and miserable cut his restraints. "Is it him, Sakura? Is it Sasuke?" She flinched. He had hit her sore spot.

She was pissed. He was prying into her private life. When did he ever care about her? Why did he suppose he had the right to question her as he did? In this position nonetheless? Her wrists thrashed against his hands, and before she could squirm out of his hold, she felt his knee pry her legs apart. The back of her hands met the wall beside her head and his large warm palms intertwined its fingers with hers.

His body was pressed intimately against her now. Kakashi couldn't register what he was doing. His body felt good up against her, and there was nothing he could do to control himself. "What are you doing?" she snapped at him.

"I…I… don't know," he stammered. His voice held an indistinct amount of fear. His masked face nuzzled the crook of her neck.

Sakura couldn't even fathom what was happening. All she could feel now was the warmth of his breath at her neck sending a pool of warmth down the bottom of her stomach. She didn't know what he was doing and she was scared out of her wits. She slowly found her voice, "Kakashi…please… I'll tell you. Just get off of me," she pleaded.  
His voice shook with frailty, "I…can't…"

"My marriage is dead, Kakashi. There, I told you… just get off…" she pleaded desperately, hoping the man would release her. He moved his face up against hers. Eyes locking in with her as she tried to avoid his gaze again. His fingers slacked against her hands and he slowly released them.

"I'm sorry, Sakura…" She felt his warm breath against her lips, and for a moment there, she almost forgot to breathe. His fingers traced their way up her arm to her shoulder and rested there. Her legs shook with anticipation, feeling the urge to lean into him. His body was still pressed against her in the most provocative of ways and his forehead rested upon hers. He was too close; way too fucking close to her.

Why was he doing this? Did he just apologize to her? For this? She felt the warmth of his hand disappear from her shoulders. In her line of vision, she could see his fingers grab a hold of the edge of his mask, and gradually tug at it until it was pooled at his neck. Her eyes trailed down his face to admire his handsome features that she had had the pleasure of viewing earlier that day.

She felt his hot breath against her lips, barely concentrating on the words coming out of his mouth. His mouth looked so inviting, and….sexy… _Sexy? Where did that come from?_

"Forgive me…" came his pleading, gasping voice against her lips. She gasped as he pressed his lips lightly upon her mouth, testing her reaction. Pulling away, he gazed into her flabbergasted eyes.

Did he just kiss her? Oh my fucking god, he just kissed her! To say she was alarmed was an understatement. And then she felt it again, his warm breath and his lips against hers, gently nipping at her bottom lip. She looked away, unable to move, unable to think. His hands found the small of her back to push her up against him, gently tapping his tongue on her lips.

She suddenly felt a little too warm. His body up against hers was doing odd things to the insides of her stomach, and the twinge of arousal created a biting sensation between her legs. Despite all the sensations he created, she couldn't do this, could she? Why not? She was unhappy.

His mouth nipped at her bottom lip, tapping his tongue against her lips again. She wanted to give in. But she couldn't. And then she felt his hands trail across her bare stomach. She gave in. As his mouth closed around her lips, his tongue lightly stroked her bottom lip only to meet her tongue as she trailed her bottom lip up against his mouth letting her tongue stroke his gently. He pulled away and looking slightly stunned and somewhat flushed.

She pushed up against him guiding one hand down to the hemline of his pants, the other fumbling for the room key. Her mouth closed upon his with urgency, and the gentle tap of his tongue against hers did nothing for her focus to open the room. A raw animalistic moan escaped the back of her throat as he pushed her up against the wall of the room right after she managed to unlock and open the door. His callous fingers gripped her hips so now they were angled up against his. Sakura had to grab onto his shoulders to prevent her upper body from flailing. His forehead was still against hers. He gasped for air and panted with the utmost need for oxygen.

"We can't do this…" she finally panted out, gasping as he kissed her once again.

"I know… but I can't stop," he mumbled hotly against her lips. His mouth moved against hers again, and with every stroke of his tongue against hers, she could feel the desire to have him coursing through her veins. Her back hit a soft surface and before she could register it, his body enveloped hers on the motel bed. His mouth still was on hers and she felt the unbuckling of his fingers on her pants. With one swift pull both her underwear and jounin pants were off, leaving her legs bare. That was when she felt it, his hard arousal and his bare legs against her most intimate of areas.

Their bodies writhed against each other as he every hot kiss he placed on her lips made her almost orgasm. Kakashi's hands gently cradled the side of her head lifting her up and with one swift motion, he was inside of her. She gasped out against his lips as he tongue swept against hers and the roof of her mouth. Kakashi grasped her hands, entangling his fingers with hers. His body still pressed intimately upon her small petite one, he began to move within her, creating loud raw moans that escaped her throat. His mouth worked with hers, tongue battling with hers, stifling her moans. His rhythm increased. With every thrust, she let out a muffled cry of pleasure. As they reached their peak, she felt the warmth of his liquid fill her, and was suddenly glad that she took her birth control on time that day. She felt him gasp against her mouth; his warm breath tasting sweeter and sweeter against her mouth now more than ever.

His eyes searched hers now, his body still connected with hers; HE was still connected with her. She saw the regret within his eyes, and when she struggled to push him off and out of her. He grasped her hips tightly, not letting her go. Burying his nose within the crook of her neck, he inhaled her scent. He couldn't place his finger on what her scent exactly was, but one whiff and it almost drove him crazy.

All Sakura could do that night was stare at the mold-ridden ceiling of her motel room berating herself over and over until words lost all meaning, _I cheated._ When Kakashi did fall asleep, she quietly pushed him off, gathered her belongings, and took off without looking back.

This time, she couldn't hold back her tears.

* * *

It had been weeks since the incident with Kakashi occurred, and Sakura couldn't figure out for the life of her how she would be able to ever look Kakashi in the eye ever again. She made it a daily goal to minimize contact with Kakashi as much as possible. It was impossible to cut off all contact with him though. After all, there were both shinobi, and susceptible to the Hokage's beck and calling. They were both liable to run into each other, but whenever that happened, she would simply ignore his presence altogether.

She let out a miserable sigh as she stared lazily at the stack of medical files sitting snuggly on the surface of her desk. _Screw work…_ She'd been at the hospital for almost 48 hours now, filling up her time until another mission was available. She was tired, irritable, and all she wanted now was a hot shower. A yawn escaped her lips as she made her way out of her office, heading towards the medic locker rooms.

The instant Sakura stepped out of her office, the only image she could ascertain was Kakashi's lazy frame slouching against the wall across from her office door. His book was nowhere in sight as he made it painfully obvious why he was there.

Promptly averting her eyes, she swiftly headed down the hall. She didn't miss the sullen expression on Kakashi's face as she moved further and further away from him. Once she had reached the medic locker rooms, she decidedly pushed all thoughts on Kakashi out of her mind, ready to enjoy her shower. Once she had gathered her bathing essentials, she began to strip off her medic jacket and the rest of her clothes. The medic locker room was a unisex locker room. At the current moment, there was no one else, but even if there was, she honestly could've cared less.

Stepping into the shower, the steaming hot water washed the knots and tension within her muscles away. Her aching and exhausted body desperately needed this. Her mind, like her body, was stuck in an emotional turmoil that she couldn't seem to trash, despite her desperate attempts.

Suddenly, she felt it. There was the presence of another shinobi behind her. She had no misgivings on whom it was as she felt strong arms slither its way around her body. Folding her arms across her chest to stop the intrusion, her tone was even and controlled, "Kakashi, please…" His hot breath sent shivers up and down her spine, as her voice grew weary, "we can't do this…please stop."

His voice was raspy and pleading… "Just this last time… I promise…"

* * *

A/N: What did you think?! I've got to hand it to smut writers, smut is incredibly hard to write... 


	3. Gambling

A/N: I'm hoping for more reviews this time…. :-d

Chapter 3- Gambling

He looked at her intently. The monkey was staring at her, expecting an answer to a question she was sure she hadn't caught.

What did he say again? She scoured his eyes, searching for some twinge of emotion to solve her rootless question. The cold panel of glass felt unearthly against her palms as she again tried to regain her concentration to focus on the topic at hand.

_What was it again?_ Really, she felt ill at the moment. Eyes seemingly dull and soulless, her gaze unintentionally drifted off at the glassy window panes, inspecting the droplets of rain that slithered its way down the cool surface.

He cleared his throat, and again, her focus was on him. But for the life of her, she could not recall his question.

"Sakura…" his voice was stoic and hard. Her eyes scrutinized his posture. She began to feel ill again. "I asked if you were going on a mission anytime soon."

Oh… So that's what he asked. Why would he ask something like that? Why would he even NEED to ask something like that? It wasn't as if he wanted to see her; vice versa, or so she hoped.

That's right… they were married. How did that fact always manage to slip the depths of her mind?

"I requested one about three weeks ago," surprised at the cutting tone of her vocals. When had she become so bitter?

"I see," he whispered softly. His eyes were meticulously examining her face. Gently removing her cool palms away from the window, she quietly stood to leave the room. With every step she took, the hollow clacks her feet made sent a shiver to travel unintentionally across her arms. Her stomach churned, tightened, as she was sure her body temperature rose.

_Flashback_

_His tongue swept across her lips, igniting a deeply seated moan from the back of her throat. She panted heavily as perspiration formed at every crevice of her body. _

_Her body arched, fingers clawing at his skin, needing to feel more of his body against her. His touches were almost mind-consuming. She desperately ached to feel his body pulsating within her._

With every hollow step, her legs began to give way; quivering with every enticing memory her miserable mind surreptitiously conjured. She couldn't help herself. His fingers were addicting, feeling her in places she forgot even existed. Her body would ache with desire with every miniscule thought of him, replaying the unpredictable events within the last three weeks.

Placing the back of her palm against her right cheek, she felt the unmistakable heat of her flushed, aroused skin. She groaned, closing the glossy wooden doors behind her.

_Flashback_

_Screaming, panting; her teeth clenched. Her breath hitched as she felt her pleasure peak. He blew against her. His tongue was agonizing trailing across her sex; teasing her. _

_Letting out a desperate cry of frustration, her body tensed as fast as it relaxed. Before she knew it, her liquids were released, as his tongue finally slipped within the folds of her sex. _

_Quickly letting the pent up sexual energy consume her, her hands dug into his silver hair, drawing him closer to her, but his tongue continued to tease her body. She desperately wanted to scream, "Fuck me!" _

No, she had to stop. She needed to stop thinking about him. With another frustrated groan, she hastened her footsteps. She just had to get away; from both of them. She needed a mission, somewhere far away from Konoha. She glanced up. _Crap…_

It seemed like she was seeing him more than she'd like to. Truth be told, her body was pulsating with heat, hungry for him. She seriously was contemplating if she should've leapt on him. She knew it was unhealthy. She knew she was wrong. But what could she do? It was too late.

She stopped in mid-stride and nodded, acknowledging his presence. He greeted her with a smile and the typical Kakashi-like eye crease.

Unlike Kakashi, Sakura's face was devoid of visible emotion. Kakashi often wondered what made Sakura change in such a drastic way. In fact, he had watched her come out of the Uchiha manor in a frantic and hurried manner. He felt himself twitch when her facial expression twisted into a routinely practiced unreadable expression the instant she caught sight of him.

Something was distracting her. He could sense it. He was worried about her. Above all of the things he was feeling now, he missed her. He hadn't seen her in a week, since he surprised her in the shower. Seeing her like this wasn't helping the growing affection he held for her. Kakashi knew her current plight was his fault. He had been the one to initiate this sinful act. He knew he was a bastard.

They stood facing each other now, unsure of what to do next. She'd avoided him like the plague. Honestly, she felt like she was staring down the barrel of a gun, and she refused to have her eye taken out by desires that were unseemly. He scared the living daylights out of her.

No, it wasn't because they had slept together twice. It was because now more than ever, she was afraid if she didn't avoid him, she'd be the one to initiate and continue an affair that she knew she ought to circumvent. The moisture drained from her mouth and throat. She licked her lips subconsciously. Did it suddenly get hot? Or was it just her?

Kakashi's lone dark eye crinkled in a friendly manner. With a wave, he greeted her, "Yo!"

"Kakashi," she heard her voice greet him in a manner that was neither friendly nor hostile.

He cringed. She seemed too cold. Kakashi took a couple of steps towards her. The anticipation within her increased ten-fold. He was getting too close now, and he knew it.

He was now directly in front of her, his chest only inches away from her. She felt his hair rustle against her face as the heat began to rise within her body once again. _Crap…_ Hands still stuffed within his pockets, his lips were directly hovering above her ear.

He spoke in a soft, masculine, throaty whisper, "Let's have dinner tonight. Around eight?"

She swallowed. Hard. She knew what he was proposing. He was asking her in a moderately discreet way to continue this affair that he had instigated.

She didn't even know what to make of it. His breath was still tickling her ear. The sensation was fanatical. Her hormones were undoubtedly running amok.

She didn't answer, but his voice came again, "I'll wait at the bridge. Think about it." She shut her eyes, patiently waiting for him to move away.

He slowly and purposely moved his cloth-covered lips over her lips and placed a short lingering kiss upon her mouth. The sensation was now mind-blowing.

Taking ragged steady breaths, Sakuras' eyes slowly fluttered open. He was gone. She cursed herself. She had completely forgotten what she intended to do in the first place. Wait, where was she? The Hokage building was not more than ten meters away from her.

Recovering from her temporary amnesia, she began to take long quivering strides towards the building once again.

* * *

"Is it really necessary for this mission to require two people?" 

Tsunades' eyes flashed. Sakura had never in the past questioned her actions before, why did she start now?

"Yes Sakura, this mission requires two people," the blonde Hokage spoke with unerring authority.

"Okay then. I am worried about Kakashi though. I think you should send someone else with me."

Twice in one day? Something was up. "Sakura, we both know that Kakashi is a stubbornly insistent man. Do you really think he will just sit idly in Konoha? I'm sending you because I want YOU to complete the mission, while keeping an eye on him and his injuries. Inform Kakashi for me." It was the truth.

Sakura knew there was nothing else she could say. Catching the mission scroll that was abruptly hurled into mid-air, Sakura left the Godaime's office with an utmost sense of sacrificing dread.

Either way, tonight, she would have to see Kakashi. Apparently, she didn't have a choice. It was like the devil was goading her into this affair, signing her name in blood on his list of the most-likely people that would land their asses in hell. She brashly groaned. She loathed herself at the moment. If only she knew better…

It had been her fault since the beginning. She was just too persistent. Why in the world did she believe that someone so hell-bent on revenge could ever possess enough space within his heart to love her? If she hadn't been so loyal, persistent, and patient, none of this would've occurred. She scoffed at her foolishness.

She literally had fooled herself; convinced herself that with time, he would learn to love her. Hah! This marriage was nothing but a sham. If the world were to find out, no doubt she'd be the laughing stock of Konoha. She could hear the pitying voices now, 'Poor girl… And she loved the Uchiha so much. She was so foolish.'

She couldn't be the one to ask for the divorce because she was the one who told him she would always love him. Talk about something biting you in the ass. It was the most fucking ironic situation; so ironic that she wanted to cry.

It seemed like hours before she arrived before the foreboding, dark Uchiha manor. She suddenly regretted going home. Stepping foot inside the morose atmosphere, she felt the depressing aura enter the very periscopes of her body. The tension stretched its thin saran wrap-like layer across her face, suffocating her.

Her footsteps carried her to an abandoned room in the northeast side of the mansion. The monkey hardly ever visited this section of the manor. She'd be hitting two birds with one stone; avoiding the defecating presence of the monkey and conjuring up enough time to think about the situation at hand.

She settled herself comfortably in an armchair that seemed too lumpy for her liking. But that didn't matter, because this time, she hardly noticed. She began to think. Once she finally made her mind up, unceremoniously, she drifted off to la-la land.

* * *

It was surprisingly warm, and she was just so comfortable. Sakura lazily strained open one eye. Shifting, she could feel a warm steady breath at the crook of her neck. Was this just her imagination? Why was she hallucinating? Was this all just a dream? 

No, it was real. She recognized the ebony hair that tickled the apples of her cheeks and the body that dotingly engulfed hers. A blanket was draped dutifully around the two, and before she could have time to retch, the grandfather clock that resided comfortingly across the room struck eight.

Lifting an arm that was draped across her waist and placing it gently on the armrest of the armchair, she left the monkey there to whatever his twisted brain desired. She was late, and unfortunately, she had no time to analyze why the monkey would cuddle uncomfortably with her in an old shabby armchair, at a place he hardly visited in the first place. She couldn't give a shit.

Dashing out the manor, unceremoniously slamming the glossy wooden door, and breaking into a dead shinobi-like dash, she arrived at the designated meeting point only a good seven minutes late.

The moon ominously haloed in the sky at this point. She could see Kakashi's silhouette looming over the edge of the usual Team 7 meeting place. The moonlight bestowed a shimmering radiance that the sunlight could never compete with, causing Kakashi's handsome figure to resonate an aura of peace and tranquility. She couldn't recall what her decision earlier was, but now, she no longer wanted to leave.

She reached within her jounin vest and found the object she was searching for. Approaching him steadily, her footsteps light and stealthy, she placed a rough hand upon his right shoulder. Apparently, he was so lost within his thoughts that he had not even noticed her arrival.

He found his lone visible eye staring expectantly into her green eyes. She handed him the mission scroll, and he nodded. He thought she was going to depart, but her eyes stayed on his lone eye. Finally, she rotated her head around, and he felt his stomach sink. Was she leaving?

Her left hand discreetly trailed from his shoulder to his rough callous fingers, and she gently gripped them. His lone eye widened; comprehended the silent message. He tugged her hand towards him, and they began to walk; his fingers still sprawled across hers, not gripping nor relenting.

She let him lead, unsure of neither his plans nor their destination. She was confused, and for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to reprove his actions. Their short walk was silent; uninterrupted.

The apprehension that only began as a slight worry within Sakura's chest gradually enlarged with every passing second. What was she doing? Did she actually agree to this? Should she stop this now before the situation got out of hand?

Unbeknownst to Kakashi, the words were always at the tip Sakura's tongue, threatening to burst out of its cage. Fortunately for him, Sakura held her tongue, still too unsure of her own feelings.

He stopped. Her eyes slowly trailed up, inspecting their surroundings. She was so lost within her thoughts that she hadn't noticed they had climbed two flights of stairs. She knew this building. Suddenly, the sensational urge to slap this man silly overcame her.

"KAKASHI!" In a sudden outburst, she smacked his hand away from hers. "I can't believe you live so close to the training area! Why the HELL are you always so late?" she spat out vehemently.

"Heh…" she heard him chuckle. Honestly, she was shocked to say the least. Her former hyperactive tone had overtaken her voice. She was honestly too stunned the instant she perceived her tone.

"What?" she bit out. Her eyes narrowed at his figure. She finally noticed where they were. Standing impatiently in front of a boring pale gray apartment door, she read the numbers that oh so elegantly adorned it, adding a bit of spice to its long-standing impassiveness.

_Room 201…_ She passed this building everyday on the way to training when she was younger. How in the world did this man manage to always be so late was beyond her.

His lone dark eye held an unmistakable amount of mischief as his lips quirked into a semi-consistent smile. "What?" she heard herself snap at him again.

"Nothing…" he spoke with amusement, "You're just so cute."

She felt her jaw misalign. Annoyance taking over her, she glared at the man, tempted to send him through at least three walls of concrete. Before she had the privilege to do so, her vision perceived the influx of light that undoubtedly flowed from the cracks of his apartment door. _201…_ The number was bland, boring, and yet mysterious; just like Kakashi. It was no longer in her sight line as the door creaked open.

_Bland…_ His apartment was boring. His furniture was boring. The walls, ceiling, and design, all were very dull. Inwardly sighing, she discarded her jounin vest at the head of his bland black leather couch. Taking the sight of his kitchen, which apparently was the only corner of his apartment that she liked, she decided to spend her not-so-valuable time within its confines hoping to instill some excitement into her dried-up soul.

"Do you like lemon chicken?" His tone was still amused. She nodded, taking a seat upon a kitchen stool on the opposite end of his stove. He seemed too cool and collected at the moment. For some reason, some non-existent part of her twitched as she watch Kakashi remove the marinated chicken from the fridge.

Kakashi's aura was radiating with a sense of professionalism that somehow irritated Sakura. She had no idea why she said what she said next. "Do you need some help?"

His gaze moved up from the chicken to her. He seemed to contemplate this a little before he simply replied, "Sure."

Sliding off the stool, Sakura moved in front of Kakashi's kitchen counter where the cilantro and knife lay expectantly beforehand.

"Chopped?" she questioned.

"Yeah…"

About 15 minutes later, the poor basted chicken lay comfortably within the oven, the utensils were neatly laid out upon the kitchen countertop, the timer was set, and Sakura was ready to explode. The man knew what he was doing; from the marinating to the roasting, the man was practically an expert.

She glared. Oh boy… did she glare… She supposed he knew what she was thinking, too. His back was still facing her, shoulders shaking with laughter, refusing to look into her eyes. He felt the deathly aura escaping from her visage, and for some inexplicable reason, he just knew.

Lips unmoving, she mumbled something under bated breath and proceeded to sit herself upon his bland couch. He followed her towards the couch and chose a seat next to her.

Her breathing steadied. He was still to close to her as she subconsciously scooted over, causing his eye to twinkle with mischief. She cleared her throat.

"We have a mission in two days. You should read over your scroll," she pointed out. He sensed her discomfort, but decided against his better judgment to scoot closer to her.  
"We'll talk about this mission when we get to it," he delicately stated.

Fine… if he wanted to get to the point. "Why am I here?" she asked hesitantly.

His lone eye scrutinized her for a moment.

"Why Kakashi?" her voice came again.

His voice was lower, almost a mild whisper. "Because Sakura, you're not happy."

Her green eyes leered at him. "I said this before, and I'm going to say this for the last time. It's none of your business."

"No, you're mistaken," his tone was straight-laced, and hard, "you're my business. Everything that has to do with you is my business."

Her glared softened, face passive, she bit out, "I don't care for your twisted reasons. I don't know why I came here in the first place." With that, she stood to leave.

"Don't," came his pleading voice, "Just give it a chance."

Unable to make eye contact with him, she uttered, "Do you even know what you're asking me to do?"

"Yes."

"I'm married." Exasperation laced her voice.

"I know," he maintained, "I know."

"Then why?"

"Because..." Kakashi's breathing was erratic, forcing the words out against all better judgment, "he doesn't deserve you…"

She spun around, the glare apparent upon her features. "Why didn't you say something beforehand? You just had to wait till we're in a situation like this. Kakashi, for the life of me, I'm beginning to think you're senile."

Kakashi's demeanor didn't waver as he carefully responded, "Would you have listened to me?"

Despite his tactful demeanor, she caught the evident anger within his voice. "No."

She turned to leave. "You never saw it, did you?" he spoke through clenched teeth.

"Excuse me," she slowly rotated her head to face his.

"You were always so blinded by your love for him. You never saw mine." His rage was in full-release now.

Her gaze sent him a fleeting queried glance. Not understanding his twisted game, she headed for the door. She could hear the scurry of his soft footsteps approaching her from behind just as strong arms engulfed her.

Her breathing hitched. The large warmth on her back, in combination with his breath in her hair, sent tingling sensations through her body. His thumbs were rubbing lazy circles on the backs of her hands. She heard his deep voice speak again, barely discerning the words, "I've felt this way since you became jounin more than three years ago Sakura… Just stay… We'll just have dinner… Nothing else…"

In a state of stupor, she complied.

* * *

She found herself that morning wrapped up within Kakashi's arms on the bland couch that she had derisively criticized the night before. She stood corrected. It didn't matter if the couch was bland, it was damn comfortable. 

It was exactly like Kakashi said. They had not slept together. The two just had dinner and ended up talking on the couch. At some point, she grew tired and dismissed herself. Of course, Kakashi protested and somehow, convinced her to stay, and they ended up like this.

Her gaze lazily drifted to the figure whose arms were draped loosely around her waist. Sakura's back was faced towards him as she craned her neck to get a better look. He was currently mask-less, and hot damn, he was gorgeous.

She silently groaned. Her whole body shook with anxiety when she saw that his legs were entangled with hers, and that she had no hope of getting out of his grip without alarming the man. She really wanted to leave….

Great… she woke him up. Some ninja… Kakashi's hold on her petite body tightened, as his lips reached over her shoulders to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning," he murmured.

"Good morning…" Her vocals were softer than she would've liked. "I have to go now.." she continued, her voice still soft and light.

He groaned in protest. "Can't you just stay a little?" came his voice at the crook of her neck.

She squirmed her body around and pressed herself against his chest. "Sorry… I can't." Voluntarily, she placed one short, lingering kiss upon his mouth, rose and left.

Kakashi was all too surprised that she had kissed him voluntarily.

* * *

A/N: you like it? 


	4. Virtuous

A/N: I have to admit…. This story is somewhat scandalous.

Chapter 4- Virtuous

The question was simple. The answer was simple. The whole phrase was simple. The idea was complicated.

"How's married life?"

She desperately wanted to respond with a simple, "Okay." She really did. The words were scrambled somewhere within her brain, balancing itself on the tip of her tongue, but never seemed to have enough fuel to rocket out.

After several moments of silence, the blonde hankering down drinks beside her decidedly ceased his expectant gaze as she continued to gulp down massive amounts of alcohol. She really loved to drink.

Her gaze fell upon the handsome man who at the current moment, was in the middle of swallowing a moderately intense amount of alcohol. He never seemed to lose his passion for life. Those vibrant cerulean eyes always outshined her in some shape or form, holding an enormous amount of courage that she, unfortunately, never seemed to possess.

Inwardly sighing, Sakura took another sip of her Vodka. The liquid traveling down her throat stung slightly, dulling the intensity of the previous question.

"When is Sasuke coming?" There was another question.

Before she could stop herself, her lips moved on its own accord, "How the hell should I know?" _Oops…_

Those vibrant eyes snapped towards her direction again, scrutinizing her nonchalant features. His gaze held hers, as he slowly narrowed his eyes in inquisition. Luckily, before the blonde could interrogate the roseate-haired kunoichi, the man in question arrived.

"Dobe," Sasuke greeted Naruto with a typical monotonic tone.

"Teme!"

She felt the slight involuntary roll of her eyes, directing her gaze towards the clear liquid sloshing peacefully within her glass. She knew her chances of dying due to alcohol poisoning were significantly greater than dying during a mission.

The Uchiha chose a seat next to her. "Did you just get back from a mission?" he asked the blonde situated to her left.

"Yeah," Naruto answered cheerily, "How about you?"

"I just got back from a mission about two weeks ago. Sakura is leaving on one tomorrow." Oh… so that's what he was doing when she was avoiding him…

"Oh yeah?!" Naruto never ceased to amaze Sakura. He was always so…. _Happy…._

"Why isn't Sasuke going with you Sakura-chan?!" Naruto questioned with his usual excited fervor.  
"I'm going with Kakashi," she responded imperceptibly.

"Sakura-chan, aren't missions with Kakashi usually high ranking ones?" Naruto asked with oblivious enthusiasm.

"Yeah," she simply replied with a sordid carelessness that did not betray whatever mix of emotions that was stirred with his question.

"Wow Sakura-chan, you made jounin already?!"

She flashed the man a forced smile. "Things change Naruto, especially since you've been gone for three years" Sakura paused to take another gulp of her Vodka, "I'm ANBU."

"WHAT?!"

Without responding to the blonde, she quickly gulped down the remains of her drink. Ignoring his expectant gaze, she quickly said, "I'm going to go. See you in another three years."

Slumping out of her chair, she could feel two pairs of eyes boring eagerly into her back. Naruto flashed a worried glance towards Sasuke who seemed to be wearing a complete impassive expression.

Sakura was at the door now when she felt the monkey's presence following her footsteps. Catching Naruto's farewell as she reached the exit of the bar, she mentally cringed. She couldn't be away from the man for a few lousy moments. He always seemed to enjoy her discomfort.

He was now beside her. Subconsciously, the distance between them increased as she slowly and purposefully widened the gap with a subtle change of direction. She could hear the slight increase in rhythm of his respiration and wondered why in the world was the man nervous.

He spoke softly. "Sakura, what does your upcoming mission entail?"

Her footsteps paused shortly. Rotating her body to face his, her bored gaze met his obsidian orbs. Maintaining their current distance, she readily replied, "You know I can't tell you that."

"I see," came his impassive response. "Have you discussed it with Kakashi yet?"

"No. We plan to discuss it while we travel." He nodded in understanding.

"What's its rank?"

The question struck a slight, subtle smile upon the pink-haired kunoichi's features. "S-classed," she replied with a slight sense of amusement.

The Uchiha's obsidian eyes widened in response to her reply. Stuttering, he bit out, "W-What?"

She smiled. Her green orbs held a small amount of predatory pleasure at his actions. No longer was his gaze stoic as his eyes scoured hers in search of some minute amount of fear.

She decidedly spun on the soles of her feet and disappeared into the distance.

* * *

Ever since she could remember, Tsunade's mantra had always related alcoholism and gambling to be somewhat good and addictive. She had to admit, both activities were highly relaxing especially in her circumstances. She was both a shinobi and a woman who had lost more of her life than she could ever expect.

Thus, it was solely within her right to request other kunoichi to join her in her onslaught to destroy her liver. And that afternoon, the only kunoichi whom she'd known to enjoy one out of two of her favorite hobbies was her beloved apprentice.

She'd been insistent, and Sakura had been willing. Both women sat across from one another, bottle of some ancient sake in hand, spilling their guts.

Tsunade knew she had work that was piling up. Sakura knew Tsunade had work that was piling up. Somehow, neither of them had a care in the world as they continued their favorite hobby.

The Godaimes' eyes were glazed as her speech was slightly slurred, "How's married life?"

The question didn't seem so threatening coming from the woman who had nurtured her abilities. "Not too great," Sakura replied honestly.

Both taking another swig of their sake, Tsunade continued. "How so?"

"Ehh…" came the nonchalant reply from the pink-haired kunoichi. "It's just marriage…"

Somehow, this reply seemed to effectively trap Tsunade's attention. Her chocolate eyes meticulously scrutinized the tired and bored expression of her beloved apprentice. Her shoulders suddenly became stiff as her slight slump across her desk straightened.

"What's wrong?" came the soft whisper of Sakura's mother figure. Sakura's gaze sharpened. Her eyes met Tsunades' and she immediately regretted her nonchalance.

She wasn't going to lie. "I want a divorce," she simply stated.

Shock quickly swept over Tsunades' features. "Why?" came the exasperated voice.

"Do you really want to know?" Sakura inquired her mentor was absolute seriousness.

Nodding dumbfounded, the older woman replied, "No and yes." Quickly sliding a comforting hand upon the younger woman's hand, her gaze affirmed that she indeed wished for Sakura to go on.

"Shisou, our marriage has been dead for the past three years."

There was a slight pause before Tsunade spoke again. This time, her voice seemed more pleasant; her speech less slurred. "Have you guys tried working it out?"

Sakuras' brows furrowed in moderate frustration, "Shisou, you know as well as I do that that NEVER works." She received a nod in agreement. "Our marriage never started for it to end. I'm just sick of pretending to be the perfect couple."

Tsunade's mouth opened, and then closed. Finally, she settled on a reply, "Somehow…I always knew this would happen. But I must say…I am surprised. You always seemed to adore the Uchiha."

The younger woman's mouth quirked into a slight smile, "There's another reason," the older woman's eyes motioned for Sakura to continue.

"I'm having an affair."

* * *

She'd change from the moment he married her. Somehow, he knew it was his fault. As he watched her saunter away, a pang of unintentional guilt struck the very core of his abdomen. He couldn't figure out for the life of him where it all began to go wrong.

He had wanted children. He had wanted to resurrect his clan through her. That was the original plan. He knew she knew. She knew that he knew that she knew. When had it all changed?

It hit him hard the day after their wedding. The morning after, he'd awaken early only to catch a very stunning sight of his wife asleep. The alluring hues of light danced upon her skin in a way that almost made her seem phenomenally beautiful. Now, the sight of her dull, emotionless eyes tugged on his heartstrings. Uchiha Sasuke recalled it was that morning that he really fell for his wife.

Her retreating figure instigated remorse that even after three years of marriage, seemed too fresh to ignore. Was it his fault? Why did she hate him so much? It was then and there, staring at her visage disappearing into the distance, that he realized that their marriage was dead.

He had not made empty promises to her. But it surprised him to no extent how his plans drastically changed over the past three years. Now, more than ever, he desperately wished for her to look at him with the same passion she used to hold for him. He desperately wished that she understood that she meant more to him than she seemed to think. Uchiha Sasuke had become a desperate man.

A layer of regret crossed the Uchihas' eyes as he spun around silently to head back to the bar. He really needed advice from the dobe. Uchiha Sasuke contemplated his wifes' actions too frequently nowadays. Sakura always seemed so cold now. She was always gone. He was trying to mend a relationship that never started in the first place, and he couldn't figure out the way to do it. Somewhere along the way, Sakura's persona shifted in an inexplicable manner. He found that, uncharacteristically, he was frightened in his inability to read her, and for some reason, he was disappointed that she didn't need him in the least.

Sasuke was glad to find the dobe in the exact same spot he was in ten minutes before. Slumping lazily into a stool next to the blonde, Sasuke waved a hand signaling for the bartender.

"Something strong," he muttered when the bartender sent him an inquisitive glance.

"Three years…" came the dull, breathless voice from Sasuke's left side, "it's been too long."

"How's training with the pervert?" came Sasuke's casual question.

"Same old same old," Naruto callously replied. A sullen, distasteful expression was etched upon the blonde's face in a manner that made the Uchiha uneasy.

"Come off of it, Naruto," Sasuke stated, "we both know she'd never stay happy staying beneath our status." His eyes never left the glossy wooden surface of the bar as a dark woody-colored drink was slid surreptitiously under his nose.

With a loud groan, the blonde darkly replied, "I know… I know…" A considerably short hiatus overtook the conversation. "I knew that she was never happy being a chuunin at 21. I just thought that she'd be content with it because she was married to YOU."

Obsidian orbs flashed towards the blonde man, "What are you insinuating? We both know she surpassed her chuunin status long before. This has nothing to do with me. She was just unhappy with where she was at."

Narutos' cerulean eyes surveyed the unreadable expression plastered upon his best friend's face. Readily, he bit out, "Do you honestly believe that?"

"What?" Sasuke snapped.

"That you have nothing to do with this sudden change?"

"What are you saying? That she shouldn't have been jounin in the first place?" Sasuke defensively questioned.

The blonde's face scrunched into an expression of distaste as he slowly swallowed another mouthful of his drink. "No, not at all" he responded lazily, "at least not for the wrong reasons."

Naruto received a sullen glare from the dark-haired man.

"I'm saying Sasuke, that I KNOW she surpassed her rank long ago. You KNOW that's what I meant. She became jounin for all the wrong reasons, and one of those reasons is YOU," Naruto retorted.

The dark-haired man's glare intensified. "Sasuke, whether you're going to admit it or not, I can see clearly that your marriage has problems."

Sasuke's glare softened as he redirected his attention to his drink. "That obvious huh?" he bit out while taking down a sip of his drink.

"Yeah," Naruto replied. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"Is there anything I can do?" inquired Sasuke skeptically.

A loud sigh escaped the blue-eyed man. "Probably not… but you can always try."

"I am."

Sasuke heard the blonde chuckle sarcastically. "I should've never left her to you."

"Probably not."

A sudden grin spread upon Naruto's features. "If she leaves you, can I give it a shot with her?"

Naruto's comment was received was a sharp, intense glare. "No."

His grin spread wider upon his angelic features. "I don't think you have a choice in the matter."

Stifling a grin, Sasuke responded quietly, "I'm going to do what it takes to make her see that I love her."

No further conversation was exchanged between the two as the blonde and the dark-haired man continued to silently commiserate with their trusty drinks. What had undoubtedly transpired was indeed a conversation between men.

* * *

"Excuse me?" came the exasperated voice as a mouthful of sake lay serendipitously wasted half upon the door exiting the Godaime's office and half upon Sakura's face.

Surreptitiously wiping the sake with a casual hand off of her cheek, Sakura blandly reiterated, "I'm having an affair."

Tsunades' eyes settled in a shock-induced state. Minutes silently ticked by as neither student nor teacher uttered a single word. Tsunade's sake was left forgotten among a clutter of her paperwork while the woman silently processed what her student just uttered. Finally, Tsunade spoke carefully, "I'm sorry Sakura, I must've been hallucinating. Did you say you were…" she swallowed hard, "having an affair?"

The mischievous glint in Sakuras's eyes was profoundly enhanced with Tsunade's question. Amused, she imperceptibly replied, "Yes."

"I see," came the soft response from the Godaime. Tsunade's hand trembled as it slowly crawled across the cluttered desk in search of her sake bottle. The instant her skin came in contact with the cool glass, in one swift motion, the woman guzzled down the sake.

In the finality of two empty sake bottles, one slightly confused Sakura, and an undoubtedly piss drunk Hokage, conversation finally partook.

"Who?" It was more of a demand than a question. Coming from the Hokage, it seemed Sakura didn't have a choice before she would discover her sinful partner.

Chuckling softly, Sakura queried, "Shisou, does it really matter?"

"Yes, it does Sakura. The man…excuse me, man or woman that you're screwing on the side must have the some huge balls."

"Man, shisou, man… And may I ask, what the HELL do you mean?" Sakuras' eyes gazed at the Hokage with impatience.

Scrunching her eyebrows in a confused manner, the older woman chuckled. "He's instigating an affair with Uchiha Sasuke's wife. I can only name a couple of people whom have the ability and the gull to attempt such a feat, let alone pull it off. So I must ask Sakura, who is this man?"

A smile slowly formed on the pink-haired woman's face, "This is between the two of us?"

"You must know me better than that Sakura? I wouldn't sabotage an opportunity to see the almighty Uchiha Sasuke get screwed over." A smirk was present upon her 20-year old features. "What is said here, STAYS here."

"Hatake Kakashi." With no caution to the wind, laughter engulfed the somber atmosphere.

When the laughter finally died out, a mirthful expression overtook the Hokage's face. "Shizune owes me money. Before Sasuke and you got married, we had a pool going on whether you and Kakashi would get together." With that, another bottle of sake was cracked open, and both student and teacher drank their hearts out to the first bet Tsunade ever won with desirable results.

* * *

When she was still a child, she recalled someone had commented on how expressive her eyes were. It was true. The speckled emerald irises resonated with emotion unbefitting to a shinobi. Those eyes held so much power, passion, and a raging fire that burned throughout the heaviest of rainstorms. But then again, that was the naiveté of most children. As children, unless of course you were Uchiha Sasuke, your emotions were thoroughly sheltered. She of course, being one of those stupid naïve children, once had possessed an unrivaled innocence in which the heaviest of rainstorms could not dampen.

Of course, she was no longer a child, but a living, breathing, and killing woman of 24. She often wondered the cycles of maturity that a human being psychologically forgone. Despite all she'd seen from others or even through her own experiences, she could never comprehend the drastic changes. Haruno Sakura was an intelligent woman. She was not blind to her own drastic changes, but whether or not she saw it, understanding it was a different issue. She knew she had developed into a different persona than that of her genin years. And being perceptive to such a change, she had to agree that she'd committed a terrible mistake to herself and to Sasuke.

She accepted the blame and the consequences that her actions conjured. Her eyes trailed across the embers of the roaring fireplace within her living room. Unusually, tonight, she was home. The words left a bitter resemblance within her thoughts. She could hardly remember the last time she spent more than an hour at the Uchiha manor. Why she was here tonight, she had no freaking notion?

The atmosphere tonight was somewhat tranquil in contrast to prior nights where tension inexplicably loomed within the air. The monkey was not home yet which left Sakura to happily wallow within her thoughts undisturbed. She continued to gaze in the embers, enjoying the silent flickers of the flame and the way it convulsively danced to and fro.

Silently, Sakura contemplated why she was really here tonight. For some reason, tonight especially, she was eager to see the monkey. She wanted to confirm something; to assure herself that if she were to walk away from the monkey whether it be tonight, tomorrow, or even next year, she would fail to regret her actions. Uchiha Sasuke had left a gaping wound within her heart; a wound that had yet to heal even after 12 years. Though she had effectively married the man, she was uncertain about her feelings for him. She was uncertain of the certainty he could give her, and after three years of marriage, he had effectively proven that he could give her nothing she desired.

She knew the instant he arrived at the doorstep. She could hear the silent clatter of his footsteps heading towards the area she was residing in. His footsteps were erratic, seemingly stunned by her presence. She had not come "home" for years. Her eyes were still concentrated upon the dancing flames when he entered the room. Maybe it wasn't the house itself, but his presence that caused the tension within the atmosphere to rise ten-fold. Tonight, she was certain of that now.

His sharp, unrelenting eyes scanned the room, and softened the instant it came in contact with her figure. He stood in the doorway for quite some time observing her as her eyes were still focused on the fire. He cleared his throat softly.

She ignored him. She heard him again; it was louder this time. Slowly, Sakura's eyes adjusted to his dark figure slumping against the frame of the door. He seemed to be at a loss for words for she could make out the outline of his jaw opening and closing as if the words were at the tip of his tongue.

Finally, after minutes of selecting the appropriate words, he spoke softly; a hint of apprehension present within the bowels of his voice, "You're home."

"Yeah," she whispered. He took a couple of steps forward towards her; his calculating eyes scrutinizing her as if he was uncertain whether she would snap at him for approaching her.

"Why?" his voice cracked slightly, on the verge of breaking.

His silhouette stood powerful yet just as graceful as ever slumped against the doorframe. Sakura had to admit, Uchiha Sasuke was handsome man. Yet, appearances were always deceiving. Unfortunately, she learned this lesson 12 years too late. She still needed confirmation, and his question stood boldly against the dim lighting, and unfortunately, it was something that she could not give a response to. Hesitantly, she stood to make her way towards him.

His eyes were still on her visage, analyzing her actions. Her body was now only inches from his, and he instantly wondered what she was up to. Her eyes trailed up to meet his, and slowly her hand went to stroke his arm. Inching up on her toes, she placed the other hand on the side of his face. This effectively brought his head down towards her.

"Kiss me," she whispered to him. Confusion danced throughout his orbs as his eyes seemed to inquire her words. "Kiss me," her whisper was louder.

He lowered his lips to slowly brush upon her skin at the corner of her mouth. She could smell the pungent scent of alcohol lingering upon his breath. His lips were warm and inviting. She felt herself being pushed backwards until her back was pressed against a wall. He had yet to kiss her, and for some inexplicable reason, she could feel the restraint within his breathing.

"Kiss me," she reiterated; this time with more force against his lips. His eyes were closed, as if enjoying her body against him, and her warm breath mingling with his. He finally complied.

She felt the slow tug of her bottom lip and the slide of his hands against her waist, bringing her closer to him. His tongue gradually prodded against her lips as she opened her mouth slightly. His body was shaking with restraint as his tongue slowly trailed against hers, eliciting a squeak from the back of her throat. The fire crackled in the background as their bodies were illuminated against the dark atmosphere.

His body was now pressed intimately against hers. His restraint was slowly breaking as their hesitant kiss displayed his longing for her bottled up after all these years. He was savoring the feel of her mouth against his, not wanting to move too fast, afraid the moment wouldn't last. He feared he was now hallucinating or this was all a dream. Either way, if it was, he would make it last. Sasuke felt her palms push against his chest, as he reluctantly pulled away from her. Her eyes displayed a heart-wrenching regret that he hadn't seen throughout all these years. She slowly slid out of his embrace to head towards the door.

He felt his heart squeeze. He wouldn't let her go, not tonight at least. His arms found their way around her torso. She did not resist him. She simply stood there, letting his body engulf hers. He held her that way throughout the entire night. Neither one of them slept that night.

When dawn finally showed its cracks through the window, she moved to grab her belongings that she had packed the prior night for the mission. He silently followed her as she made her way towards the door, neither of them saying a single word. Her hand made its way towards the doorknob. She gave it a small twist. Rotating her head around, she caught Sasuke's gaze. Before she knew it, his arms found their way around her once again and his nose within the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent.

"Be careful," he whispered. She stepped away from him, and he let her go. Her eyes were still upon him.

Carefully, she spoke. Somehow, she knew that she would regret her words, but she had felt nothing towards him. She knew that now, she had to say the words that he most likely never imagined she'd say. "When I get back," she spoke quietly, "we're getting a divorce."

She never missed the shock embedded into his obsidian orbs as she disappeared behind the not-so glossy wooden doors of the Uchiha manor.

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! . 


	5. Gender Tick

A/N: Thank you my loyal readers!!!! Your reviews have made the last couple of weeks less stressful! Anyway… I have a surprise in store for you in the next couple of chapters. You'll probably hate me for it, but what can I do?

Chapter 5- Gender Tick

She despised the world. It seemed as though even with thousands of years of history, women were still undermined in almost every aspect. She'd learned throughout the years that being a kunoichi was difficult pertaining to the aspect of her gender, but she'd just assume as time passed, traditional female roles would dissipate.

Apparently, she was wrong.

Apparently, there were still men in the world who viewed women in the most disgusting way possible, and unfortunately, she would have to meet two of them. There was something wrong with men. She didn't know if it was the hormones or if they were born genetically inferior, but she had to admit, they were all idiots. Women ran the world, and only if all the idiotic men in the world would open their eyes, they would undoubtedly see that they were just pawns in a woman's world.

Sure, most leaders were men, but in retrospect, women tugged on the strings. A man was merely a woman's puppet, and that was all there was to it. In the end, men were fools, and that was the repetition of history. A man would always end up losing to a woman.

_Gamaku Ikichi…_ Sakura cringed at the thought of his name. She hated S-classed missing-nins, but more than that, she was disgusted with sexist S-classed missing-nins. Apparently, he was notorious for this particular lifestyle of female defilement. She suddenly wished she hadn't requested for a mission that would undoubtedly lead to much anger management on her return.

Ikichi was a dangerous man, having murdered over 100 other missing-nins, including two former Atkatsuki members. Like most idiotic men, he was a leader; a ring leader. The man was the leader of the Fire Country's largest organized crime ring which included brothels, all sorts of frauds, counterfeit money, and every other single illegal scandal you could add to the list. The man also commanded an army of over 200 other missing-nin whom were carefully selected. He indeed was a dangerous character.

The mission? Killing him was not an option, for Ikichi had selected an heir to ascend his throne in the event of his untimely death. His death would bring about the coming of power of another power-hungry, sexist idiot. In that case, Ikichi's death would be fruitless in every sense. The mission was to assassinate his heir, Gamaku Katsuki. Gamaku Katsuki was Ikichi's ONLY heir, and Ikichi was a senile old fool. The untimely death of Katsuki would undoubtedly disrupt the power structure within the ring catalyzing Ikichi's overthrow. That was when Tsunade, the Hokage herself, would step-in to interfere and negotiate with these men. The Hokage was not only a leader, but a woman. These men would have no idea what was coming, even if it hit them in the face.

Unfortunately, the information that was available in reference to Katsuki was very limited. Katsuki was a mysterious shady character who lived in the shadow of his father. Apparently, the only information available to them was limited to just his name and the fact that he took on his father's sexist beliefs. Though they had an idea of what Ikichi physical appearance somewhat resembled, Katsuki was still a gigantic unsolved mystery. Sakura's mission was to seduce her way into the ring by any means at her disposal, find an opportune moment, and before anyone knew it, cut the fool's throat. It seemed easy enough. Like life was ever easy.

Like Tsunade said, Kakashi would have very little in accordance to the mission itself. His only job was to assist Sakura escape and to minimize the obstacles that would intrude in the upcoming mission. Katsuki was also an S-classed criminal, and Sakura definitely had her reservations of such a mission. She knew the mission was undoubtedly dangerous. Fortunately, Tsunade also felt this way despite her complete faith within her apprentice's abilities. Tsunade had issued both Kakashi and Sakura a communication scroll and they were to activate in the case that either Kakashi or Sakura were captured and in need of reinforcements. They were too valuable to Konoha to lose, and Sakura was definitely of value to the Hokage herself.

At the moment, Kakashi was pondering on the important aspects of the mission, and whether he would feel secure enough to let Sakura go through with it. If it was one thing that Kakashi knew about Sakura, she was a feminist. And despite her reservations on a mission of this nature, Kakashi was positive that she was eager to bash Katsuki's skull in.

Kakashi understood that there was nothing he could do to stop this mission and that he was not the main character in this hazardous mission. All he could resign to doing was to eliminate all the obstacles that would cause Sakura difficulties. One other reason why Kakashi had so many reservations about Sakura's role was due to the fact that he was insanely jealous, not that he'd ever testify to it. He understood that Sakura would only be able to kill Katsuki when he was either subdued or defenseless. Katsuki was an S-classed criminal with as many notches on his bedpost as well as his belt. There was only one way to bring a man like him to that state, and Kakashi wasn't sure if he could accept it. Sadly, under the current circumstances, and his duty to his village, he could not refuse.

They had been traveling north for almost a day now. Fortunately, no awkward silences had occurred between the pair. They'd been discussing the mission and its dangerous aspects. It wouldn't take long before they would reach their destination since the crime lord's residence resided in the Fire Country in a city named Tsusagi not too far north from Konoha. They would be there by the end of the day. Once they arrived there, their plan was to ascertain the conditions and use whatever Sakura had under her disposal whether it may be sex appeal or femininity to their advantage. She was planning to be kidnapped. Kakashi on the other hand, only could improvise. They had no idea how the city or the ring functioned. This would be their best bet in getting close to Katsuki.

This morning, Sakura seemed different; somewhat more cheerful than usual. Kakashi clandestinely glanced at the woman traveling beside him as they hopped from branch to branch. The silence was tranquil and Sakura seemed to be deeply engrossed within her thoughts which further peaked Kakashi's curiosity to what they could be. Sakura caught Kakashi's lone eye through her peripheral vision.

"Kakashi, I think it would be for the best if we kept a close range upon each other in Tsusagi." Her tone held seriousness relative to a shinobi, "and, it would also be for the best if we disowned our acquaintance."

Kakashi nodded after an enduring pregnant pause, "I agree."

"So what's on your mind?" Her question caught him in surprise. The man had not expected her to instigate a conversation with him. Truthfully, all morning, Sakura had been contemplating with curiosity over what the man could've been thinking .

"Truthfully?" he paused for a second, "You." His response was received with a questioning scrunch of her forehead. "Sakura, I have to apologize. I didn't think things all the way through and now we're caught within a web of deceit that I'm not sure I know how to untangle."

She chuckled and a mirthful expression crossed the pink-haired woman's features. A stern and stringent expression quickly replaced it. "Kakashi, what am I to you?"

The expression on the copy-nin's face behind the mask somewhat resembled a deer caught in headlights. He had not expected Sakura to be so direct. She'd always held a reticent air with the selection of her language, avoiding every serious topic that had ever crossed her with nonchalance. Sometimes, Kakashi was sure her nonchalance was purposeful. Now, he finally came to the realization that maybe, just maybe, she was just bored.

The question still hung within the atmosphere, daring him to strike it down with an answer. He would tell her the truth. "I don't know."

"I see." He could see the return of her blasé demeanor.

"But, I know that I don't think I could live without you." He said it like it was a statement, more or less. It was detached and cool, very much resembling Sakura herself more or less nowadays.

Sakura's face twisted into a sleek, sincere smile. "I'm leaving Sasuke."

Right at the moment, despite the presence of the frustrating cloth that shielded the man's face from reality, a very wide grin spread upon his face. A lengthy hiatus took place as both shinobi finally absorbed the effects of the conversation.

Finally, the copy-nin rotated his neck to face his pink-haired lover and stated in a simple amused tone, "Monkeys." This caused her to grin as she reached for his hand.

* * *

It was well after noon that they finally reached Tsusagi. To be honest, they weren't sure what they were supposed to expect, but what they encountered peremptorily surprised them. This town was the capital of crime yet it seemed so NORMAL. Despite it being more crowded and definitely larger, it was no doubt normal. Taking a quick scan around, Sakura found that the people working the market place somewhat resembled the bustling Leaf villages back home. This was definitely a shinobi town. Maybe this wasn't the best place to start investigating. 

Like they had agreed upon earlier, they were to disown their acquaintance. Even so, they were both headed inconspicuously, one after the other, to one place they both knew was the center of all gossip and information, the local bar. Apparently, it paid off to drink, not that they were advocating it. Obviously, both were very unfit to train genin. They were horrific influences that if given the opportunity, would give rise to a generation of miscreants. Fortunately, they both doubted anyone would be insane enough to assign them a genin team. Though Tsunade was loopy and drunk most of the time, she definitely wasn't insane.

It was less than five minute later that they had deftly located Tsusagi's most popular shinobi bar. This, by definition, meant the bar that held most of Tsusagi's male population even in the early hours of the afternoon. Honestly, Sakura loved bars, especially ones where the men were abundant. It really contributed to her anger management. Cracking a couple of skulls was always the best way to end the day. Though she unceremoniously decided not to stir trouble that would attract too much attention to herself, if a couple of knuckleheads wanted to pick some trouble with the pink-haired kunoichi, she wouldn't disappoint them.

The instant Kakashi and Sakura entered the bar; they both could sense that something was definitely out of place. Of course, as they took separate seats far apart of the other, they finally realized the situation. Sakura was the only woman in the bar. In fact, there weren't many kunoichi in the town at all. Sakura had recalled this particular fact when she surveyed the marketplace earlier. It seemed as though the town took after the beliefs of the crime lord himself. Not only was the fact that she was a woman sitting on a barstool inside a shinobi bar attracted unwanted attention, but a woman with NATURAL pink hair. She suddenly regretted not dying her hair before the mission.

The bartender eyed Sakura wearily as she ordered a whiskey. She could see him bustle to the other end of the bar to take Kakashi's order as Kakashi made casual conversation with the man. A glass of clear auburn liquid was slid down the bar towards her as she gratefully muttered a quick thank you before taking a drink. For some reason, she felt awkward, and despite the fact that they were in a shinobi bar filled with potential enemy-nins, she couldn't place her finger on the source of the awkwardness.

Slowly rotating her body upon the bar stool; she took a quick scan around the room and found that apparently, she was the object of attraction. She suddenly felt sick. What was she, some piece of meat? Spinning around in grotesque horror, she took a large gulp of her whiskey. The pleasant familiar burn of the alcohol and the slight trickling of liquid down her trachea soothed her nerves. When she finally comfortably settled within her seat, the wooden doors of the bar burst opened. Not bothered by the idiotic display as six shinobi entered the bar, each accompanied with a very smug look plastered upon their faces, she casually took another sip of her drink. Her eyes snapped towards Kakashi's direction. He, apparently, was still scoping for information through the bartender. Her view was suddenly obstructed by a large body.

Growling slightly at the rude intrusion, her emerald orbs traveled up the toned body to meet violet orbs. The man that had rudely obstructed Sakura's view was a very attractive man who was somewhere in his late-twenties. Yes, Sakura had to admit the man was attractive. His physique and face held very prominent features; strong jaw, smooth skin, sexy smirk, toned body—it was all very attractive except for one thing that repulsed Sakura, the look he gave her. The feeling the man bestowed upon her was ten times worse than the damage the monkey would ever do. Chills ran up and down upon her arms as subconsciously, her stomach clenched in apprehension. This man held a dangerous air.

Sakura cleared her throat loudly. The man in question grinned and slowly brought his head down to her eye level. "Are you new here?" he asked her with an uncanny sense of mirthful humor which for some reason, she took highly into offense. Oh that's right, she wasn't wearing her hitai-ate.

She had no prospects of starting a bar fight at the current moment, despite how annoyed she suddenly felt. She turned to her drink and decidedly ignored the man whose hungry gaze scoured her expectantly. As she took another sip of her whiskey, she heard the goon behind the man scoff at her nonchalance. "Hey bitch, answer him if you know what's good for you."

She took a quick scan to her right. Apparently, she still was the center of attention. The rest of the shinobi within the bar all wore very amused, almost knowing looks upon their disgusting drunk faces. Though his comment brought a twinge of displaced annoyance to the kunoichi, she continued to nurse her drink. Another goon's voice disturbed her silent commiseration. "Bitch, are you deaf?"

Gruffly, between a sip of her alcohol, she stoically replied with a simple, "No."

The violet-eyed attractive man held his hand up as to silence his goons and stated with unerring authority, "Let me handle her." Once again, a flash of annoyance crossed through the kunoichi's eyes. She found he was now looming over her as he gingerly stroked her hair. Her eyes were now upon him as she could feel tiny beads of restraint dissolving. She could feel his warm, yet oddly perverted tone within her ear now, "Whiskey isn't fit for a woman." With a minute second of immaturity, she purposefully took another gulp of her drink as to defy the man, all while sending him a glower.

She heard the man chuckle into her ear. He face left hers and as she was suddenly relieved that he would finally go away and give her peace with her little drink, her reflexes wouldn't give her peace. She found that her arm serendipitously went up to block an attack that was intended to smack her with pure brute force. Drink still resting snuggly within her left hand as her grip was still on the man's wrist, she took another gulp of her drink. She didn't miss the shock etched upon the man's face as she slowly released her drink upon the bar and faced him as he wrenched his hand free from her grasp. His goons were suddenly beside him again, all holding apparently glares upon their faces, as the other shinobi within the bar quickly turned to leave.

"You should've quit while you were ahead," the violet-eyed man stated dangerously, "while I was still showing you the respect that a bitch like you didn't deserve. Now, I'm going to not only fuck you, but I'm going to let my boys fuck you too."

His threat shouldn't have been amusing to her, but for some insane reason, she scoffed. As the goons moved in to seize her arms, she stated with utmost amusement, "Six knuckleheads." Before they knew it, her body left the stool to only seize two goon's arm, one in each of her arms. Applying a minute amount of pressure all while bending them back, she heard a satisfied snap as they were both unceremoniously sent flying across the room. The remaining three goons retreated out of fear behind the violet-eyed man, while he simply stood there with a bored expression plastered upon his face.

"Useless," she heard the man scoff, "Can't even beat a woman."

She saw the quick slide of his feet, and before she knew it, his hand went around her throat sending both of their bodies flying within mid-air. She braced herself for the impact as her back landed roughly against the wall behind the bar. A loud groan escaped her. Deftly, using one hand to circle around the man's throat, she applied a rough amount of pressure that caused the violet-eyed man to wince. She roughly coughed out, "This game has just started." Her left hand circled around the man's wrist and she was rewarded with a loud pop. Adding more pressure to the man's neck with her right arm, she wrenched his head down only to be rewarded with a strong kick to her side.

Still refusing to use her chakra, she smiled, released her hand from his neck, and swung her leg to the side of his head. He landed in a heap to her right. Chuckling, he slowly collected himself stood up. "Unfortunately, I have somewhere to be right now. But, don't forget, this WILL continue." He stood to leave signaling the three remaining conscious shinobi to follow him.

As the four men bustled out of the bar door, her blood ran cold catching their hurried conversation.

"Katsuki-sama, are you alright?"

"Shut up you idiot! Can't you see he's pissed!"

She groaned as she caught sight of Kakashi still sitting calmly at the other end of the bar, comforting the bartender whom was cowering in the corner. Finally realizing that the fight between the two shinobi was over, the bartender gathered his wits and bustled his way behind the bar to clean up the remnants of the scattered drinks. Sakura quickly left the bar only to find that Kakashi was now beside her. "Are you alright?" he quietly asked.

She chuckled, "Do I look alright?"

"Yeah," was his simple reply.  
"Then does that answer your question?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "So what are you going to do about Katsuki?"

Stopping abruptly within her footsteps, she spun her head towards the man. "Did you HEAR what he said to me?"

"Yeah, but you should've been more careful," he quietly reprimanded.

"I don't care. I'm more pissed at the moment.

"You don't seem pissed."

"Kakashi, this is what it's like when I'm pissed."

"Oh." His eye scrutinized his pink-haired lover. "I knew that." He flashed an apologetic smile.

"He's a sexist pig, Kakashi."

"But you knew that already."

"Yeah, but I didn't know that that was him," she justified.

"True."

Suddenly, her demeanor abruptly shifted towards the grim side. "I should've taken him more seriously. If I did, I could've just killed him right there. Instead, we have to do it the hard way now."

"True, but look on the bright side of things… You can avoid Sasuke longer. And, now you know that you can take him."

This sent a breathtaking smile upon the kunoichi, "Ahhh…."

He couldn't help himself as he leaned down to place a quick clothed kissed upon her lips. She grinned.

"Now, captain, what do we do?" Kakashi asked with amusement.

"We run into him, and I lose."

He chuckled. "Sounds about right. Good plan captain."

* * *

"Get up." His semi-conscious mind snapped back to reality as his eyes traveled towards the source of the command. "Get up teme." 

Grunting, the ebony-haired man proceeded to drag the covers further up; just enough to blanket his head while strands of his unruly black hair continued to poke out from under the covers. Infuriated at being ignored, Naruto sauntered over and took a seat at the edge of Sasuke's bed.

"Don't make me wrestle them off of you," Naruto spoke in a threatening yet amused manner.

"Go away, dobe," came the muffled response from under the navy blue sheets.

"You can't stay in here forever," the blond reprimanded.

"Yes I can," came another muffled reply.

"As crazy as it seems, your squad can't function without you."

"I don't care. Go away." His voice was now merely a quiet whisper.

"Baa-chan is beginning to miss you too."

"Liar."

"Ok teme. You're done moping around here. Either you tell me what's wrong, or I'm dragging it out of you," Naruto blandly uttered.

The covers slid down slowly as Sasuke's position straighten. Eyes focusing on a particular section of Naruto's hair, he replied, "Apparently, I'm getting a divorce."

Though his best friend was in a miserable position, Naruto couldn't suppress a scowl. "Ahh… so I do have a chance with Sakura-chan." His comment was well-received with a dark glare. "Kidding!"

With another disgruntled grunt, the ebony man disappeared beneath the covers again. Voice muffled beneath the sheets, he muttered, "The Vodka is in the cabinet next to the fridge."

Without a second thought, Naruto scrambled out the door towards the kitchen to do his best friend's bidding.

* * *

"Remember Kakashi, we no longer know each other." Her tone was stringent and professional. With a solid nod, he left her side to move towards the hotel entrance. They would get rooms one after the other. That seemed inconspicuous enough. After a considerable amount of time, Sakura deemed it was appropriate for her to order her own room. With that she moved towards the hotel entrance.

Her room was clean, simple, and very normal. To be honest, she could've cared less. Her time was better spent down at the hotel bar. Maybe she'd become an alcoholic. But she was a shinobi, and shinobi needed an outlet to vent their frustrations. She considered this reason to be well-justified considering everything else going on in her life.

Taking a seat on a stool in front of the bar, she ordered a whiskey without bothering to glance up. Maybe you could blame it on her desire to rid herself of her headache. Or you could even blame it on the fact that she couldn't suppress her alcoholism. Either way, she knew exactly what she was doing as her world slowly went black. Haruno Sakura had been drugged.

* * *

:)

* * *


	6. Counting Sheep

A/N: Gushes REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS!!!!

Chapter 6- Counting Sheep

"Divorce is a four letter word," the dejected voice muttered.

"Yeah… I never really understood that…." an equally dejected and drunk voice chimed in.

"Eh… it doesn't matter. Like any of this makes sense…" the dark-haired man commiserated. Both men were sprawled out upon the tangled navy blue bed sheets in the prestigious Uchiha manor.

"Teme, why do you think Sakura is doing this now?" Naruto inquired the dark-haired man.

"I don't know. It was never great to start out with, but not bad enough to come to this." Sasuke sighed.

"Has anything unusual happened lately?"

Sasuke paused as various emotions crossed through his dark orbs. "To think of it, right before she left on the mission, she asked me to kiss her. That was unusual."

"You guys are married. How is that unusual?" the blond scrunched up his nose in confusion.

"We don't kiss," replied Sasuke blandly.

"Maybe that's where you're going wrong here teme."

"What do you mean?" inquired the ebony-haired man.

Naruto chuckled. "Your marriage lacks passion. Frankly, if I was Sakura, I'd leave you too."

Sasuke's forehead crinkled. "No you wouldn't." His words were now accompanied with a drunken smirk.

"Why not?"

"Because you love me too much."

"Yeah… teme… you're a little drunk…" Naruto callously replied.

"Maybe…" With a last sullen groan, Uchiha Sasuke passed out.

* * *

Her head hurt. Really, she couldn't think straight if her life depended on it. So much for her dependency on alcohol. She knew that one day alcohol would be her downfall; she'd just never assumed that she could use such a self-destructive device to her advantage. All she knew now was that she regretted her plan. Her head just hurt way too damn much. 

Ears honing onto her surroundings, she recognized the echo of distinct voices and slowly, but painfully adjusted her eyes to the dim lighting of the room. _Definitely not a prison…_ she thought shrewdly.

Her head still definitely hurt, but the pain now settled into soft discontinuous throbs upon the inner walls of her skull. She definitely was considering joining an AA group when she returned. Her body felt drained, chakra and strength-wise. There was definitely some sort of drug circulating within her system. She'd have to wait for it to wear off. Apparently, these men were not idiots. They knew a threat when they saw one.

The distinct voices grew louder and more distinguishable. She recognized Katsuki's soft footsteps approach her cozy little room. The door slowly clicked open as she once again caught the breathtaking sight of violet eyes. Was there a rule that S-classed nin were all attractive? To be frank, most of the missing-nin listed within her bingo book were very indeed attractive, and Katsuki was by far the most. Too bad he was a sexist idiot. The thought caused Sakura to recoil in disgust.

"Now how are we doing?" came the sexist's slick tone.

Her gaze snapped towards him as her eyes narrowed. Wetting her lips, she slowly spoke, "Fine and dandy. Now, if you'll just move aside, I'll be on my merry way." She smiled. Sometimes, she just couldn't help being sarcastic. It must've been something she picked up from Tsunade.

He chuckled, amused at her ministrations. "Sorry, no can do." He was definitely more than amused.

"Oh, that's too bad." She needed to stall. She needed to wait till the drug wore off. She was too helpless now, chakraless, strengthless, and weaponless. "I suppose you wouldn't be kind enough to let me go."

He grumbled. "I won't be a gentleman in the presence of a woman that will not know her place."

She scowled. He was pushing it. Heck, she didn't need her chakra. She'd go after this asshole in a fist fight. "I suppose drugging someone so they can't kick your ass constitutes as one of those ways to deal with women who are disobedient?" He was just getting on her nerves now.

His face scrunched up in an expression of disgust. But even through his façade, she saw he held an undeniable amount of respect for her. Had he been a lesser person, he would've adopted his usual violent tendencies. "You're an anomaly."

"You'd be surprised," she calmly retorted.

He scoffed. Apparently, tradition had etched itself on this man's mind. His gaze traveled towards her again. "Which village are you from?"

"I don't think I'm liable to disclose such information," she monotonically stated.

"I don't think you have a choice in the matter." He received an ill-perceived smile, "but I won't force your answers. By the way, you are required to attend an event with me tonight." Katsuki motioned towards some laid-out garments resting comfortably at the foot of her bed. "My father is interested in such a brazen woman. He, as I am assured, will pound the much needed understanding of what a woman's role is into your brain."

This time, she scoffed. "I'll look forward to it." With that, he left her to herself.

She'd access her health within those minutes of conversation. She needed a little more than a day for the drug to wear off. They'd been too careless in injecting the suppressant into her body. She'd been given too big of a dose. Had she been unhealthy, the dose would've killed her on contact. Men really were a bunch of callous idiots.

* * *

To be honest, she really wasn't in the mood to deal with a room full of sexist idiots. She just wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep off the drug. But no, she's just had to be gussied up and dragged to entertain and astound a group of scoundrels. Was she really that interesting? Because if in fact she was that interesting, she would be willing to kill of that portion of her so-called interesting personality just to attain some sleep. She really was cynical. 

She could slowly feel her strength return as the clock continued to tick. The maids were bustling about her; dressing her, fluffing her, and prepping her. She felt sick all of a sudden. These women were ENCOURAGING her to be submissive. She was strongly fighting the urge to roll her eyes. She really didn't need a day, a couple more hours and her normal strength would return. Though her chakra took much longer to restore, she was confident with her own physical limitations. She'd be willing to take the fools on with just her tried and true skills alone. Unfortunately, Katsuki and Ikichi were both S-classed nin, and she had the tendency to underestimate people. Seeing as she did have the time, she would take all the necessary precautions.

Before she knew it, she was being led to a room which she'd assume to be the fluffed-up version of a living-room. The guests had all arrived and were eyeing her as if she'd just declared that she had an undying affection for puppies with mustard. Maybe she was an anomaly. She really could care less. As she stepped foot within the confines of the fluffed-up living room, she instantly knew that she'd have a long hard night. In the corner of her eye, she caught the sight of silver, unruly hair. Apparently, Kakashi was there.

With a dejected soft groan, she was silently shuffled into a seat near the head of the room. She silently ascertained her surroundings as her eyes rested on the figure at the head of the room. Gamaku Ikichi. Katsuki no doubt took after his father. Ikichi was quite handsome for a man in his early fifties. He was just too good-looking for his own good. The man's eyes twinkled with an unmistaken amount of mischief that Sakura didn't seem to understand. Behind that mischief laid a layer of approval, perverse, and disgust. It was safe to say that the man had never encountered a woman such as herself in his entire lifetime.

Finally settling comfortably within her seat, she noticed that the atmosphere took an uncomfortable turn. It had grown indefinitely too silent, and for some reason, she'd just wish someone would say something. She noticed that Ikichi took this hiatus to examine her, sizing her up or in this particular case, sizing her down. She was annoyed, really. It took just about all of her self-restraint to resist clearing her throat.

After his thorough scrutinizing, his eyes finally settled upon the better part of his audience as he began to speak. "Gentlemen, I am proud to say that we have achieved greatness in our homely business. Today, I stand before you in resignation. My reign is over," his hand curled around a glass of violet liquid and raised it in the air, "but my son, Katsuki, will take his position as my heir as soon as we spread our dominion into Konoha!" Sakura almost slipped out of her chair. The overwhelming sounds of cheering and clattering filled her ringing ears as she struggled from regurgitating whatever food was left within her stomach.

When the clattering finally died down, the old man's violet eyes settled upon Sakura once again. "My dear, what is your name?"

Her eyes drifted up to meet his as she scowled. She wondered if this man would know who she was if she were to disclose in truth his requested information. She smiled at the warm expecting gaze within his eyes. "Ikichi-sama, my name is not important."

His face scrunched up mildly before he replied, "Very well." Suddenly, she was the epicenter of the fluttering male attention. "Katsuki has told me quite a bit about you. He says you're _disobedient._"

Her eyes narrowed. She knew this man was toying with her, playing a game that not only did she know how to play, but she knew how to win. With a half-smile, she countered meekly, "I'm sure he is over exaggerating. I may be brazen at times senpai, but I try my best not to be disobedient." Katsuki's jaw dropped.

The warmth returned within the old man's eyes. "I'm most certain of it. My son must've been over exaggerating then. Forgive him my dear."

She bowed her head respectfully. It was safe to say that she had won. "My dear, Katsuki says you're a kunoichi?"

"Yes senpai."

"I do have one question for you though," Ikichi prodded cautiously, "Why is it that a woman such as yourself feels the need to take on such a _male_ profession? Wouldn't it be easier if you were to just _stay within your place?_"

She smiled shrewdly. The old man was testing her. It was very risky indeed. If she were to defy him, she would reveal her distain to him, thus jeopardizing any chance of getting on his good side. On the other hand, if she were to sweetly subject herself to such a statement, he'd know she was lying through gritted teeth. After moments of careful consideration, she finally spoke. "Not every village is the same. I come from a very small nameless village that is in desperate need of shinobi. All women and men are required to take on this profession."

She was well-aware that her answer satisfied him. He nodded in understanding while sending her a minute smile of approval. In the corner of her eye, sitting forlornly next to Ikichi, she saw Katsuki's incredulous expression. Silently, she giggled. She would be sure to give him hell till the rest of the drug left her system.

* * *

It was an understatement to say that Kakashi had been impressed. He couldn't believe it. Haruno Sakura, a woman who possessed the shortest fuse he'd ever seen in his entire life, had held her temper. Kakashi could see the blatant surprise etched upon Katsuki's face with every answer Sakura gave to the old man. Kakashi suppressed the urge to grin. Sakura really was an amazing woman. 

Clattering once again filled the room as the men socialized. Sakura, absorbing the situation, scrutinized the men and their squabbling. She'd have to inform Tsunade about the ring's plans.

While Sakura scrutinized the men, Kakashi couldn't help but observe her from the corner that he resided in. He loved the woman; from her vibrant sea foam eyes to her vivacious pink hair. Unfortunately, as time slowly passed by, he noticed subtle changes that gradually grew drastic. He knew she was no longer the woman who smiled without inhibitions. Inwardly Kakashi sighed.

_Flashback_

"_Kakashi-sensei, another bell test?" she inquired, her eyes innocently glanced at him expectantly. _

"_This again!" the loud blond interjected. _

"_Now now, I just want to see what good three years has done for you." The silver-haired jounin gave his former students a characteristically amused eye crinkle. _

_"Fine sensei," was the pink-haired woman's huffed as she pulled out a pair of black training gloves from her thigh holster. For the first time in the jounin's teaching career, Kakashi saw a glimmer of fighting spirit within the eyes of his sole female student. Really, he was curious. He hadn't seen her in years. What was she now, sixteen… fifteen? _

_"Ready Naruto?" she turned an expectant gaze upon the cerulean-eyed shinobi. With a pout, Naruto nodded. _

_Really, he'd thought he'd seen it all. He thought he knew all their strengths and weaknesses. What he never expected was the loudest crack against the surface in which he was buried underneath. The sound was accompanied by the crack of the splitting earth as the impact dug up hundred-year old rocks and deeply rooted trees; all that and Kakashi himself. _

_"Found you," she mumbled. There was no doubt about it, in a couple of years Haruno Sakura would by far outrank the infamous copy-nin. Kakashi was certain of it. Kakashi had never been more frightened in his entire life; yet, at the same time, he'd never been so googly-eyed. _

_End Flashback_

He chuckled. He didn't even realize he had drifted off. That was a dangerous move. Shinobi were always required to be aware and alert of their surroundings. Fortunately, Kakashi had drifted towards the servants' quarters in an attempt to get some rest before the drug within Sakura's system would wear off. He had been furious when he found out she was drugged. He had received such news from one of his fellow servants who had delivered food into the room she had been kept in. It didn't matter though, he had realized. They had time, and she wasn't in any danger. Though worried, Kakashi willed himself to sleep.

_Flashback_

_"Hokage-sama, how long have I been out?" the copy-nin spoke, voice slightly muffled from behind his beloved Icha Icha series. _

_The busty woman eyed him wearily, annoyed at the man's perverse antics. "About two weeks."_

_"And Akatsuki?"_

_"One less to worry about, but still at large," she replied, her voice slightly relieved. _

_"Deidara?"_

_"No, Sasori." _

_Kakashi's book snapped shut. Instantly, the copy-nin's eyes roamed the hokage's face. "How's Sakura?"_

_"No major injuries… a couple of scratches here and there." Her voice was somewhat amused now, predicting where the conversation was heading._

_"I see…"his voice was now a mere murmur._

"_Seems like I did well huh? No need to be surprised Kakashi. She's talented." With that, the Godaime turned to leave leaving Kakashi a little more than miffed. Kakashi would never admit this to anyone, but he knew that her strength never came from him._

_End Flashback_

* * *

"Let's go get some ramen!" the blond chirped. The duo had woken up that morning hung-over like two dead monkeys. Unfortunately, Naruto had always recovered from just about everything at much quicker pace than the Uchiha, and apparently, this included hangovers. 

"No…" the dark-haired man responded with a groan, "it's too early."

"Awww… teme.. are you still moping?" the enthusiasm was evident within the blonde's voice despite his sensitive question.

"Yes…" came the hung-over resolute response.

"Sakura-chan will come around."

"Well... what if she doesn't?" Sasuke sent a desperate look towards Naruto.

Pondering for a moment, Naruto met Sasuke's eyes, "She will."

With no ammunition that could be used against the hyper-active soon-to-be hokage, Uchiha Sasuke was dragged towards the nearest ramen stand, Ichiraku.

* * *

_Flashback_

_He always loved a pint or two of beer after missions. In fact, he loved it so much that it started to become a tradition to come to the local bar after missions. He knew that this was a common trait for most shinobi for throughout the bloodshed and trauma, one thing always came out right, and that one thing was alcohol. He sighed as he settled down upon a bar stool behind the bar. Kakashi had just returned from a long three-year A-classed mission and to be honest, all he felt like doing was getting drunk. Unfortunately, his beloved friend, Genma, was late. Apparently, Kakashi's habits had rubbed off on somebody. _

_"Sorry Hatake," the late man in question whom just arrived greeted, "the fifth wanted to see me."_

_"Anything important?" the silver-haired jounin inquired from behind his Icha Icha Paradise._

_"Nothing that could be disclosed," the chocolate-haired man replied gruffly while ordering a pitcher of beer for the both of them. Kakashi nodded as he tugged his mask down till it pooled at his neck. Really, it was too hard to eat or drink with it on, and Genma had seen his face on a mission they had years ago, so what was the point?_

_Genma chuckled. "I wonder Hatake, how many people have actually seen your face."_

_Lifting an eye above his Icha Icha series to leer at his womanizing friend, he replied, "Three."_

_"Oh?!" It seemed as though Genma's eyes would pop right out of its sockets._

_"You, my mother, and father." The senbon-sucking man's demeanor calmed._

_"I see, so I should feel special," Genma quirked._

_"You should." Kakashi's lone eye was directed back to his beloved book. Despite this, he noticed that his lecherous friend had started eyeing several women within the bar. _

_"Hey Hatake… that student of yours has certainly grown up." Genma had meant to sound casual, not lecherous. Really, the man couldn't have guessed Kakashi would be overprotective. _

_The orange pornographic book snapped shut as Kakashi's full attention was directed towards his senbon-sucking friend. "Shiranui Genma, if you even think about it, I will debowel you through your mouth," Kakashi finished with a growl. "Besides," his tone reverted back to its usual laziness, "she's still a kid."_

_This caused a rush of laughter to engulf the chocolate-haired jounin. "Man, Hatake, you are in denile."_

_Kakashi's lone orb snapped towards the direction that had captured Genma's attention. Low and behold, there was the unmistakable signature pink hair that accompanied his beloved ex-student. His eyes scrutinized her demeanor while ignoring the lewd comments his lecherous friend was sprouting about her. She seemed out of it as she was slumped over a table in the far corner of the bar hunkering down what seemed to be hard liquor. Was she even old enough to drink?_

_"Excuse me buddy, but I have a beautiful pink-haired kunoichi to entertain." Before the man could move off of his stool, a hand was placed dangerously on his shoulder._

_"Trust me Genma, you don't want to do that," Kakashi growled. Fortunately, Genma was a man that knew what was good for him. With that, cowering shamefully over his beer, he allowed Kakashi to go in his place to comfort the pink-haired mess residing in the corner of the bar._

_Approaching Sakura was harder than Kakashi thought it would be. The man barely said a word to her before he left on his mission. She probably thought they were friends or at least acquaintances. Somehow, Kakashi considered his actions to be a misdemeanor. Maybe if he'd informed her three years prior, he, at the current moment, wouldn't feel so guilty. _

_Taking a seat across from the roseate-haired woman, he cleared his throat. She seemed to be ignoring him. "Hello Sakura, fancy running into you here," he pointedly greeted her._

_Her emerald eyes sharply greeted him and then settled down upon her drink. Was she really old enough to drink? Sakura couldn't have been 18 already? _

_"Hmm… that's a pretty strong drink for someone your age. Are you sure you're even old enough to drink?"_

_His statement seemed to amuse her. Setting down her class just for a moment, she stated roughly, "If you'd been around for the last five or 6 years, you'd realize I just turned 20."_

_Okay, so he rounded down. But still, she was drinking straight vodka. Apparently, her superhuman strength wasn't the only thing she inherited from the legendary sannin. "Twenty… I must be getting old. Forgive an old man for his misgivings."_

_She scoffed. "Kakashi, I know this must be an alien concept to you, but you're not wanted right now. Sorry for being rude."_

_Really, Kakashi was taken back. The girl had always been so polite, and yet now, she'd just told him to get out of her face. He was worried. "Are you sure you haven't had a little too much?"_

_"I don't think I've had enough," she blandly stated. Despite her statement, her eyes were glazed with an unmistakable drunken stupor. Moving towards her, Kakashi pulled the glass of Vodka away from the kunoichi. _

_"I think I'm going to take you home now," he stated solidly._

_Swatting his hands away, she moved to grab her drink. "Kakashi, I swear to god, I'm not a little girl. Just go away and leave me with my drink." He was semi-wrestling with her, and despite her stoic tone, there was no doubt that she was drunk. _

_After moments of struggling to haul the kunoichi away from her precious alcohol, he felt her slump against him. "That's a good girl," he whispered. Slinging one of her arms behind his neck, he moved to take her home. _

_The streets were cold and damp that night, and Sakura seemed to half-conscious. Her apartment had been easy to locate. Not bothering to preserve modesty, Kakashi reached into her front pocket to fish out the key to her apartment. Dragging her gently inside, he placed her upon the couch within the living room. He wouldn't invade her private space. Searching through several cabinets within her kitchenette, he found a bottle of Tylenol. Laying a glass of water and two Tylenol pills upon the table in the center of her living room, he arranged her body so she'd be more comfortable on the couch. _

_Kakashi had to admit, Genma was right. She was very lovely indeed. Still, Kakashi was a reserved man whom would never cross certain boundaries. Genma, apparently, had none. Her breathing was slow and steady as she struggled to open her eyes. Her voice was soft and her speech was slurred, "You know… you're pretty attractive…"_

_Her words caused him to freeze. Before he knew it, he felt her tentatively lay a kiss upon his cheek to only trail down towards his cloth covered lips. It happened all too fast; because in the next moment, she was passed out again upon that lovely couch and snoring away contentedly. He left her apartment frantically that night. She never did remember what happened…_

_End Flashback_

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter :). There will be more flashbacks in the next chapter... _


	7. Neither Here Nor There

a/n: Sorry kiddies for the long update. I've been just so completely overwhelmed with my own love life that I had trouble writing someone else's. But here it is, enjoy!

Chapter 7- Neither Here Nor There

He heard voices. They were distant, far-off, like he was trapped in some sort of fairytale. They resembled echoes that grew increasingly louder and louder with every passing second. In one jolt, he felt the voices disappear and the weight of the world was lifted off of his body. The influx of light caused a sullen groan to escape from the man. With the influx of light was the accompaniment of an image of boy. The boy seemed like he was scared shitless.

Kakashi's eyes lazily darted towards the boy's hands as he perceived what seemed to be a flash of metal and some sort of insignia carved upon it. He couldn't comprehend anything at the current moment, suffering from his current post-sleep drowsiness.

The boy was trembling, seeming troubled and frightened out of his wits. In the next second, he dashed out of the servants' quarters screaming bloody murder. Kakashi groaned once again, disturbed by the loud protruding noise attacking his eardrums and successfully instigating a powerful headache. Eyes wandering around the small room, they rested upon an open backpack sitting at the foot of the bed he was currently occupying. It was familiar, but he couldn't seem to recall where he'd seen it. It was then that he caught a glimpse of the corner of a VERY familiar orange cover that he oh so adored that he finally realized the backpack was his.

Scrutinizing his open backpack, something finally clicked within his head. It was like a blizzard had just swept through the window, leaving the man's blood running cold. His hitai-ate was missing.

* * *

_Flashback_

_He hated to admit it, but he really never thought she'd amount to much. Even after she punched a hole through the ground, nearly crushing himself under that pile of unearthed rubble, even after she successfully defeated and annihilated an Atkatsuki member, and even after she kissed him, he still felt that she was too female. She was happy staying a Chuunin, at least that was what he thought. _

_It wasn't because she wasn't strong; it was because she settled; undetermined to surpass the ranks of Chuunin. He knew that his thoughts were sexist, but that was what she was, too female. He refused to blame himself because he was sure that he'd thought this through. It wasn't his fault. She just wasn't ambitious. It had nothing to do with him. Her only hopes and dreams all lay within a man that he knew would never return her affections. Okay, so he was a little jealous, but did it matter? He still wasn't to blame. _

_She had married the man. Kakashi was bitter; bitter to the point of no return. Kakashi knew Sasuke had ulterior motives. But no, Sakura apparently was too female to see through his words. None of it mattered though because his thoughts would always remain his own. She seemed happy to finally attain her dreams. He should've been happy for her, but all he could feel was bitter resentment. Her drunken kiss had left Kakashi with nights of thrashing around in his sheets, plagued with memories of it and unattainable fantasies that his perverted mind seemed to conjure on its own accord. _

_A year had passed since she'd kiss him, and she seemed happy enough. So it was an incredible surprise when he received the news that she'd become a jounin. It was even a bigger surprise when she came to him, requesting a recommendation to join ANBU. Kakashi was stumped. He really thought he had the woman all figured out. Though surprised off of his ass, he had severe doubts. Could she handle being one of the elite? Was she even strong enough? _

_"I'm sorry Sakura, I can't recommend you," he spoke slowly, pronouncing every syllable to ensure that she heard him. _

_She seemed passive. For a second there, he thought she understood why he couldn't recommend her. Her eyes were glazed with an unreadable expression that even with his elite training, couldn't allow him to identify what she felt._

_Her tone was steady when she uttered two simple words, "Why not?"_

_It hurt him to tell her the truth, so he didn't, "I can't send a student of mine out to _

_die." _

_Her eyes narrowed. "You recommended Naruto and Sasuke."_

_Oh that's right, she was smart. "You're not qualified. Sakura, I know you better than anyone. You can't handle it. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it's just not your thing."_

_With a flick of her hair, she turned to walk away from him without so much as another word. A month later, he learned from Genma that she'd made ANBU. Two months after that, word on the street was that she flew to the top of the ranks as ANBU captain. _

_Kakashi was too prideful. He never would admit he was wrong, but he knew she deserved an apology. So when they "accidentally" ran into each other at the market, he approached her and simply said, "Sorry."_

_She simply looked at him, distain evident within her eyes. It was in that moment that Kakashi felt the entire world collapse upon him. She reached into her thigh holster to pull out a kunai. Within the next second, before he could understand what she was doing, she had plunged the tip of the kunai cleanly through her left hand. _

_"That's all I owe you Kakashi. I think this is more than enough." Hand dripping with blood, while bags of groceries hung dutifully upon her arm, she left him. He remembered paying for a demolished fruit stand that day. _

_End Flashback_

* * *

That night, as she was lost within her thoughts gazing dreamily at the ceiling tiles, she heard the faint creaking of the door opening. Eyes flashing towards the source of the sound, Sakura acknowledged Katsuki's presence with a simple and affirming nod of her head. There seemed to be quite the tension lingering within the atmosphere, no doubt from the infuriating display she presented towards his father in the dining hall the previous night. He didn't seem to understand, she couldn't afford to screw up.

"So I was wondering," he bit out bitterly as she acknowledged his presence, "which woman are you at the current moment? The submissive and pitiful kunoichi, or the fierce and independent attractive kunoichi that sent me flying a couple of days ago?"

His cynicism elicited a giggle from the woman. "It sounds to me that there was a compliment somewhere within that insulting question."

He said nothing. He just simply glared at the affronting woman. In turn, she glared in reciprocation though it was clear that she was thoroughly amused at the man's childish behavior. Finally he seemed to snap out of his reverie as he slowly and hesitantly spoke, "Look, I don't have anything to do tonight. Do you want to train or something?"

She seemed surprised, like she hadn't expected him to come marching into the room and shyly invite her to a sparring session. On the other hand, she was completely bored, and her chakra was almost recovered. She only needed one passing night. "Okay, but no chakra," was her simple reply. He immediately complied.

After a short sparring session, both bodies of mass slouched lazily in front of the air-conditioner in Katsuki's room. The night had taken a turn for the worse as buckets of sweat trickled from their forms. Maybe it had been the sparring as both people were undoubtedly venting their unspoken frustrations upon their partner. It was oddly disconcerting. One second, their spar was friendly, almost as if they were from the same team. Then the next second, it was as if something clicked inaudibly within their brains. It grew violent, scary, and completely uncontrolled, as if their years of pent of rage finally exploded. Swords were drawn and the clashing of metal could be heard for at least a block away from the epicenter.

As the pair lay half-conscious with the pressure of the AC pounded against their weary exhausted figures, the ignited fire that exploded earlier on settled into a quiet simmer that diluted any excess rage that was left. Both people seemed to be contemplating something very serious and deranged.

Finally, as if the end of the world was brought to an abrupt halt, Katsuki decided to go in for the kill, "So what was it?"

She gave a short laugh. "How 'bout you?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Okay," he gave in, "I'll tell you first." There was a pregnant pause as he searched for the right words. "It's my father."

She seemed to understand. "My marriage."

Katsuki bolted up and sent an inquisitive glance towards Sakura.

"Yeah, I'm married. Surprised?" she asked with indefinite amusement within her voice.

He nodded, dumbfounded. He opened his mouth, and then quickly closed it. Finally, he spoke, "You are just full of surprises."

"I know."

"No, I'm serious. You told me you were rusty when it came to swords. Heck, I don't think anybody has wounded as much as you have tonight."

She laughed loudly. "That or maybe you were just really awful."

He sent her a look that said he was more than serious. "I do think you might be the most threatening person I've ever met, despite the fact that you are a woman."

She bolted up, sending him a forsaken glare. "If I didn't know any better, I don't think you mean any of that sexist bologna you spout."

He smiled. "Maybe I don't." It was in that moment that the two shinobi understood each other more than their guardians, spouses, or teachers ever could. It was in that moment that Sakura knew she would regret everything that she would have to do the following day. It was in that moment that she knew she wouldn't regret leaving Sasuke for ANY reason.

The next morning, she was fully recovered. Katsuki had already gone off to his own duties as she wistfully took in the warmth of the first rays of the day. She did not want to move towards her plans for the day, but she knew with all her being that despite everything she felt, she had a duty to a village that she loved.

She knew the instant her chakra returned, she'd have to cut Katsuki's throat. That was all there was to it. That was her job description. Yet… she wanted to prolong the process because she owed herself that much. She needed this peace; this silence. She needed time to think through her situation with the monkey at home. If she were to reconsider, would it work out between them? Where would that leave Kakashi? More importantly, where would any of this leave her?

It was mind-boggling really. She did not love Kakashi nor did she even like him that much. Yet for some insane reason, she'd throw away her hopeless, dead marriage for the man. As much as she'd hate to admit it, her marriage did mean something. It meant more to her than she could ever really admit. Unfortunately, over the years of remorse, she grew embittered by the man. It was a gnawing, gut-wrenching feeling; the emptiness that resided within her soul. She was not sentimental to say the least, but she couldn't shake it. With every glance at the man, she felt herself fall apart. With every roll of her eyes, she knew that deep down, all of it was a front; a horrendously well-played out front that she grew too accustomed to.

She fought with her front, battled with her sentimental side. She waged war against her heart, cutting down the last remains of what used to be his memory. It was all gone, and what lay within the rubble was the emptiness that plagued her memory. Soon enough, all she found that her front was what defined her. She was proud; too damn proud of herself to cry. She knew she had won, but for some unfathomable reason, she didn't feel it. She became the very thing that she feared, the accustomed well-played out front.

Deep down, she knew that it was all she had. Deep down, she knew none of it mattered anymore. No matter what Uchiha Sasuke did, she would always feel unimportant; not just to him, but to the entire world. She could not love him anymore.

She wasn't prepared for it. Neither of them saw it coming. Neither of them heard the shatter of her heart when he walked away from her that stormy night. And despite what she claimed to love, somewhere deep down, she knew that she didn't know how to love anymore. It was simple; ridiculously simple. It was all too unimportant.

Sweeping past the doors with a sturdy kick to its hinges, she couldn't help but acknowledge the nagging feeling that something was wrong. She knew she had won, yet why did she feel like she had lost? Thinking back, maybe they both deserved Oscars; because when you delved right down to the core, her marriage was a badly written script with terrific actors.

* * *

Sasuke eyed the blond with disinterest. He had lost count on how many bowls of ramen the blond had hunkered down in the last hour. Sasuke wasn't interested to say the least, but at least it was something to do. "Dobe, are you finally done yet?"

Mouth full of thick noodles and dripping miso soup, Naruto replied, "Almostd dune!"

Sasuke groaned. It was at this second that a puff of smoke signified the arrival of a Chuunin messenger. Both Sasuke and Naruto eyed the man warily. Messengers never carried good news.

"Hokage-sama requests both of your presences." With a nod from both men and the disappearance of the Chuunin messenger with another puff of smoke, they grudgingly paid for their lunches and headed towards the Hokage Tower.

* * *

She found him that day, back faced towards her as she entered the dojo grounds. It seemed as though he expected her. From the looks of things, it was as if he knew she was there to kill him. Her footsteps hesitantly approached him from behind, knowing that with every step, the short bond between them crumbled.

His eyes were crusted with disappointment, knowing that one of them that day was going to die. They both had a duty to fulfill. They both had to stay alive. Despite this, he knew that he didn't want her to go. With outstanding resolve, he spoke, "I hope before you do what you planned, you would consider a second option."

Her body was now directly behind his. Laying a tentative hand upon his shoulder, Sakura motioned for him to go on.

"I hope that you would consider staying here with me."

She smiled. Though he didn't see it, he knew what her answer was. He nodded so that she could only see it from the bobbing of his head. Unsheathing her sword, hilt steady in hand, she rested the tip upon the dojo ground. With a twist of her hilt, both shinobi were off, fighting a blinding battle of metal.

* * *

_Flashback_

_The first time he caught himself spying on her was purely a justified accident. Really, it was just an accident! He really didn't know she was going to be there, sitting idly behind the bar, hunkering down massive amounts of whiskey. It seemed as though her habits had taken an ugly turn. He thought it was highly plausible that the apprentice of a not-so-sober blonde hokage would eventually pick up some highly unpleasant tendencies, but then again, this was Sakura he was talking about. _

_At first it seemed to him like it was just an unhealthy addiction. But he soon realized that it never started out as an addiction nor was it an addiction now. She was miserable and that was the only way she knew how to deal with it. Shinobi often turned to alcohol to deal with their complicated blood-soaked lives. However, despite Kakashi's status as an ex-ANBU member, he was still very well-acquainted with many current members, some of whom worked with Sakura on many missions. _

_According to them, she never had a problem killing anybody. Kakashi could never believe it unless he saw it with his own eyes. It wasn't the woman he knew. This wasn't the woman that he had taught. He figured it may have been the missions until he found her one night slumped across the bar. Really, he didn't mean to spy on her. He was just curious as to why she was the way she was. _

_She was conversing with an equally drunk man as they both seemed to happily commiserate with alcohol. Kakashi knew that from the looks of things, the man would not remember a single thing in the morning. However, Sakura seemed to developed a high tolerance for alcohol. As inebriated as she was, she seemed to be of a conscious mind as she spoke to the man, seemingly spilling out her guts. _

_He knew he shouldn't have done what he did, but it was too late now. Curiosity had after all, killed the cat. He used his sharingan. _

_It was safe to say that he never imagined her to be unhappy about her marriage, nor did he never imagine himself to feel the horrendous joy he felt upon lip reading her drunken conversation. Needless to say, he was disgusted with himself. It was then that he found himself visiting the bar more often. He found that the resentment he seemingly harbored against Uchiha Sasuke intensified with the years. _

_End flashback_

* * *

She had to admit, she was a bit rusty. It had been awhile since she wielded a sword. However, despite her misgivings, this was fun. Katsuki was good.

As the side of her blade clashed with Katsuki's sword, she used the leverage to flip Katsuki's blade from edge of his hilt as she ran her blade down his. His sword flung high up in mid-air as the man dove for it. She chuckled. He was better than her. Too bad for him, she was just quick at catching on.

He laughed. "You're a really amazing woman."

"Thanks," she replied as her sword spiraled around his until their blades clashed once again in the middle.

"No, I mean it. I really might lose this battle. You should at least let a dying man know the name of the person that's going to end his life," he mused.

Her eyes flickered towards his as he hesitantly pushed back until her body sprung back at least five feet away from his. The tip of her sword scratched the floor from behind her as she slowly spoke, "Haruno Sakura."

"The hokage's apprentice and Konoha's top ANBU captain. I'm very surprised to say, I never expected this much from you. You look so ordinary."

She laughed. "I suppose you shouldn't underestimate people."

"I don't. My father will get a real kick out of this though. He already thinks it's an abomination that the Hokage is a woman."

"I don't doubt it. Katsuki-san, I must apologize now, but I'm going to have to end this game. Despite my respect for a man such as yourself, I have to complete my mission," she spoke somberly.

With a nod of compliance, the next thing he saw was red. Haruno Sakura stood behind the violet-eyed man, the tip of her sword still scraped the ground, as she reverted her eyes to the scene before her. She had successfully completed her mission.

Taking in a deep breath, her eyes reverted towards the exit refusing to take another glance at the bloody scene. The grip upon the hilt of her sword loosened as the sword tattered and clanked uselessly on the soft floor of the dojo. Today, Haruno Sakura had regretted a mission that she was eager to accept in the first place. She would not dwell on this though. She could not. It wasn't her place. She had to find Kakashi.

Now Kakashi was a man that she could safely assume she knew very well, considering that she had already slept with the man, but even putting that aside, she could almost purposefully say she knew the man inside and out. Those who knew the man knew he had very eccentric habits. Those who knew the man also knew that he never parted with his beloved orange-covered porn. So it was in this situation that Sakura found that they were in deep shit when she found Kakashi's beloved pornography abandoned upon the cold floor of the servants' quarters. It was then that she knew that that scroll her shisou had assigned them at the mission briefing would come into good use.


End file.
